Three feared killed as youths clash with Amotekun operatives over carnival in Oyo

No fewer than three people were reportedly shot and killed by the operatives of the Amotekun Corps when some youths were carrying out social carnival in Tapa town in the Ibarapa geo-political zone of Oyo State on Wednesday.

Men of the Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN), also known as Amotekun Corps, which started its operation last year in Oyo State, had gone to disperse the youths in the town but they refused and in the melee, the Amotekun personnel reportedly fired at them.

According to a source in the town: “Those boys were having a carnival and probably they were expected to close by 10pm but they didn’t. The Amotekun told them to stop but the boys did not stop the sound.

“In the course of trying to stop the carnival, there was an argument between the boys and the Amotekun which made the boys to throw stones at the Amotekun officers.

“Along the line, the Amotekun started shooting directly at them and now, at least three people have been confirmed dead while many people were injured. Bullets are being removed from some people who did not partake in the carnival at all.”

When contacted, the Commandant of Amotekun Corps in the state, Col. Olayinka Olayanju said he was on his way to the area, though he confirmed that there was a clash in the town. He was unable to give details of what happened.

And in a related development, a former gubernatorial aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Dr. Olusola Ayandele, who hails from the Ibarapa zone of the state, has condemned in strong terms the siege on the community by some criminal elements which has culminated in the killing, maiming and kidnapping of many residents and indigenes in recent time.

The Ibarapa axis of Oyo State has constantly been in the news recently over cases of unprovoked attacks by rampaging herdsmen, armed attackers and other unknown criminals who kidnap, kill and maim innocent people in many parts of the geopolitical zone especially Igangan, Idere, Tapa, Igbo-Ora and Ayete communities. (New Telegraph)