Tension heightened on Sunday in Akure, the capital of Ondo State, following a confrontation between operatives of the state police command and personnel of the state Security Network Agency, otherwise known as the Amotekun Corps.
Police operatives from the Scorpion Unit stormed the office of the Amotekun Corps in the Ijoka axis of Akure metropolis, where they forcibly took away a suspect who had been arrested and was in the custody of the corps.
According to sources, a complaint regarding a missing motorcycle had been lodged at the Amotekun office, prompting personnel of the corps to arrest the suspect, Tosin Adebisi, 18, at his residence, where the stolen motorcycle was also recovered.
One of the sources disclosed that shortly after the arrest was effected by the Amotekun operatives, police personnel from the Scorpion Unit arrived and demanded that the suspect be released into their custody. However, the corps declined, insisting the suspect would only be released at their headquarters in Alagbaka.
The situation reportedly escalated into a heated confrontation, resulting in gunshots being fired into the air and tear gas canisters being detonated, with the police ultimately taking the suspect by force.
The incident caused panic and disrupted normal activities in the Alagbaka area of the state capital, as residents fled in fear. Some Amotekun operatives were allegedly injured during the standoff.
Reacting to the incident, the police public relations officer in the state, Olayinka Ayanlade, stated that the police operatives were the first to arrive at the scene before the personnel of the Amotekun Corps, who were accompanied by a large number of commercial motorcyclists.
He said: “In a disorderly and commando-like manner, the Amotekun personnel and accompanying individuals forcefully took custody of the suspect and the exhibits, in the process injuring a police officer.
“Following this, the Commissioner of Police, Ondo State Command, CP Wilfred Olutokunbo Afolabi, immediately directed tactical commanders to recover both the suspect and the exhibits.
“Subsequently, after intervention and dialogue led by the commanders of both agencies, the suspect and exhibits were returned to the police in the spirit of inter-agency cooperation.
“However, it must be stated that while the matter was being amicably resolved, a few aggrieved members of the Amotekun Corps, unhappy with the release of the suspect, began firing sporadically into the air.”