Ogun varsity student shot, NANS, police trade blame

A 200-level student of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Samuel Oriyomi, has escaped death after he was reportedly shot by some men in police uniform.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the incident, which occurred around 10pm on September 26, 2022, left the victim hospitalised at the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta.

Oriyomi, who spoke to one of our correspondents on Wednesday, stated that he was returning from his day’s job as an electrical technician when the incident happened.

He said, “I was coming back from work along Kobape Road. I got there some minutes past 9pm and due to how late it was, I didn’t see a vehicle to convey me back to the school hostel. Though we are on strike, the school allows some of us that are working and have financial constraints to stay on campus.

“The person who I worked for got us a bike which was going back to school. After getting to a junction, we saw more than five cars parked by the roadside like a police van; when we moved closer, we saw the vehicles clearly and someone got out of one of the vehicles. The headlight of the car was put on and we could see he was in mufti; then he suddenly shot into the air.

“When this happened, the person behind me immediately jumped down from the bike and ran into the nearby bush. He shot again, and I told the bike man to stop and turn back so we don’t get caught up in any bad situation, since we didn’t know what was happening.

“When we turned back, we saw a police patrol vehicle coming towards us and we were actually relieved because it was a police patrol vehicle, which we had seen earlier. However, coming towards the patrol vehicle, we saw that they were speeding towards us, while the other vehicle where the man who shot into the air came down from, was also coming behind us.

“The bike man passed the patrol vehicle; they turned back and began to shoot at us severally, and we saw that they were police officers because they were uniformed. The bike man managed to park at a corner and I immediately called the DPO of Harmony Police Station and an influencer in our school because we had both been shot. I was shot on my lap and leg, while the bike man was shot on his lap.

“We noticed that immediately they shot us, they had gone into the bush to look for the guy that had initially jumped down from the bike, without checking on us.

“We were both conscious when we were taken to a nearby hospital and later transferred to the Federal Medical Centre around 1pm.”

The National Association of Nigerian Students, Ogun State, in a statement on the incident, demanded a probe into the incident.

The statement was signed by the NANS, Chairman, Ogun State, Kehinde Simeon; Deputy Senate President, NANS National, Elvis Ekundina; and the Public Relations Officer, NANS, Ogun, Olufemi Owoeye.

The statement partly read, “This incident, which is tantamount to a murder attempt, was carried out by men who are supposed to keep murderers away from us.

“We have observed with utmost disaffection the deliberate attempt by Harmony Police Station to completely cover this issue in secrecy and hold no one accountable.

“Moreso, there has not been any plan to offer reprieve to the victims who barely survived.”

However, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, in a statement on Wednesday, said the police were not responsible for the incident.

The statement read in part, “A patrol team was promptly dispersed to the scene where a young man later identified as Bakare Samuel, 25 years, a 200-level student of Animal Production and Health Department, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, was found on the ground with gunshot wounds.

“The police patrol team evacuated him to the Federal Medical Centre, Idi-Aba, Abeokuta, where he received immediate medical attention and still recuperating from the gunshot injuries.

“The prompt response by the police team saved the undergraduate student from untimely death.

“Findings from the hospital indicated that pellets associated with fabricated guns (locally-made guns) were extracted from the victim’s body during treatment. Those could not have come from police assault rifles or pistols.

“The assertion in this press release that two persons were shot severally could not be substantiated as the imaginary second person has not been produced and indeed not receiving treatment anywhere known to the police.

“Contrary to the allegation of a cover-up of the incident by the police, it must be stated that it is the student body that has not made concerted efforts at ensuring the well-being of one of its members by following up on the whereabouts and progress of the victim.”

(Punch)