Oyo Amotekun Confirms Killing of 23-Year-Old Man In Ibadan, Dismisses Erring Officer

Oyo State Security Network Agency, popularly known as Amotekun, on Thursday confirmed the death of Mr Tosin Thomas, 23, who was allegedly killed by one of its officers, Afolabi Kazeem, at Mokola, in Ibadan.

The state’s Commandant of the security outfit, Colonel Olayanju Olayinka (rtd.) who confirmed the development also informed that it has dismissed Afolabi Kazeem with Ammunition Number AM031849.

Afolabi, was reported to have killed Mr Tosin Thomas on Wednesday.

Colonel Olayinka (rtd.) in a statement he personally signed and made available to newsmen  in Ibadan added that the erring corp has been handed over to the police for prosecution, while his Team leader, George Idowu, is being thoroughly investigated and will face all necessary sanctions.

Narrating the incident that led to the killing of Thomas, Colonel Olayinka said “at about 10 PM on Wednesday, January 13, 2021, Operatives of Amotekun, led by Team Leader George Idowu, got an alert of a purported armed robbery operation at Total Filling Station, Mokola, Ibadan.

“Following the distress call, the Team Leader and his team of seven members arrived at the scene.

“On arrival at the scene of the alleged crime, it turned out that it was not an armed robbery operation, though a crowd had gathered.

“The Team Leader, sensing no immediate danger to anyone at the scene immediately proceeded to speak with the station manager. While he was with the manager, he heard a gunshot.

“As it turned out, one of his team members, by the name Afolabi Kazeem, who felt sufficiently threatened by the crowd, which included some hoodlums armed with cutlasses and other dangerous weapons, opened fire to supposedly scare away the crowd. Unfortunately, his shot hit one Mr Tosin Thomas, 23, who was subsequently confirmed dead.”

Amotekun Commandant disclosed that the Corps has found that Afolabi Kazeem with Ammunition Number AM031849 acted outside the Amotekun Corps’ protocols.

He continued, “For this reason, he has been summarily dismissed from the Corps and handed over to the police for prosecution. Also, his Team leader, George Idowu, is being thoroughly investigated and will face all necessary sanctions”.

Amotekun Commandant, however reassured members of the public of the Corps’ internal mechanisms for dealing with erring officers, adding that “We will continue to train and retrain our officers on best practices and rules of engagement.”

He then disclosed that the Corps deeply regrets the loss to the Thomas family, and “we are already in touch with the family”.