Osun State Police Command has intensified investigations into the killing of a 19-year-old resident of Ijebu-Jesa, Timileyin Oni, and the shooting of three others in the town.

The command also stated that no arrests have been made while its anti-cultism operatives continued efforts to identify those responsible.

The incident, which occurred late on Monday at T&K Junction in Ijebu-Jesa, has also sparked an exchange of accusations between the ruling Accord and the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, with both sides disputing the circumstances surrounding the attack.

Confirming the development on Tuesday, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, said officers responded to reports of gunfire at about 11 p.m. and found the victim lying motionless at the scene.

According to Ojelabi, “the victim was taken to hospital where doctors confirmed him dead, while an examination revealed what was suspected to be a gunshot wound to the head before his body was deposited in the mortuary and his family informed.”

He disclosed that three other victims sustained injuries during the attack and are currently receiving treatment, adding that detectives have commenced investigations into the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

“The incident happened around 11 pm on Monday. We received a report that there was a shooting at the T&K Junction in Ijebu-Jesa, and the police mobilised to the scene,” Ojelabi said.

The police spokesman explained that information provided by the deceased’s father indicated that Timileyin Oni was returning from church when he was attacked, while preliminary findings suggested the incident might be linked to cult activities.

“There was a warning issued by the police yesterday against celebrating 7/7 by cultists, and from all indications, it is cult-related. No arrest has been made as we speak, but the anti-cultism unit has been drafted to the area,” Ojelabi added.

Meanwhile, the incident generated political reactions after the spokesperson for the Imole Campaign Council, Pelumi Olajengbesi, alleged in a social media post that armed thugs carried out the attack and blamed members of the APC.

Olajengbesi wrote, “How many people will be killed because of politics and power? Armed thugs drove into Ijebu-Jesa and started firing sporadically. An innocent young man has been killed, four others have been injured, and the entire town has been thrown into panic.

“This is a stain on our democracy and a shame on Nigeria as a nation. Shame on those who believe that the path to power must be paved with the blood of innocent people. This page doesn’t support violence.”

However, the Chairman of Oriade Local Government, Olubunmi Obeisun, rejected the allegations in a statement issued through his media aide, Olayinka Awoyemi, insisting there was no evidence linking the APC to the attack.

Obeisun cited an account by one of the injured survivors, Oginni Olamide Oluwole, who reportedly told authorities that he and others had stopped to buy sachet water while heading to church before two men on motorcycles allegedly opened fire on them.

According to the statement, the survivor said the victims ran into a nearby shop in an attempt to escape, but one of the gunmen allegedly pursued them and continued shooting, resulting in Timileyin Oni’s death and injuries to others, including Olamide, who reportedly sustained a gunshot wound to his hand.

The local government chairman maintained that the survivor identified himself as a committed APC member and stated that the attackers were not members of the party, while police investigations into the killing and the identities of the gunmen remain ongoing.

Akwa Ibom State High court sitting in Uyo, on Tuesday, sentenced one Micheal Effiong Japhet, a commercial motorcycle rider to life imprisonment for raping a married woman and nursing mother in Uyo.

Japhet was convicted and sentenced by Hon. Justice Archibong Archibong, after finding him guilty of rape and stealing punishable under the Criminal Code Laws of Akwa Ibom State, 2000.

The facts of the matter revealed that the nursing mother, who also sells fruits, boarded the motorcyclist at close of the day’s business from Ikom Iman Junction to her home at Ikot Ofon on February 23, 2015.

Unfortunately, the rider, instead of following the normal route, diverted to a bush track with the claims that he ran out of fuel. 

The convict, it was also gathered, brought a knife, threatening to stab the victim while stealing her purse containing N7000 and a China Nokia phone.

He afterwards, forcefully had a canal knowledge of the woman despite her pleas that she is a nursing mother and married woman. 

The victim, it was further revealed while on her way to her place of business spotted the convict and alerted her husband, who quickly arrived the scene, recovered the wife’s phone and ensured he was handed over to the police.

In his ruling, the judge, Justice Archibong Archibong, sentenced Japhet to life imprisonment for rape and three years’ imprisonment for stealing.

A businesswoman in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State is receiving medical treatment after she was allegedly assaulted by members of a taskforce operating under the local government council.

Her husband, Ekweme Egwu, accused the Chairman of Oyigbo Local Government Area of deploying officials who attacked his wife, Ogechi Ekweme, during an enforcement operation on July 2.

Egwu, a wholesale drinks dealer, said his wife, who trades in thrift wear and household items, was confronted by members of a council taskforce over allegations that she had displayed some of her goods along the roadside in contravention of a directive banning roadside trading.

Recounting the incident, Egwu said he was attending to customers at his shop, located almost opposite his wife’s business premises, when a resident rushed to alert him that taskforce operatives were assaulting her.

“The local government task force is killing your wife. They are beating her,” Egwu quoted the man as saying.

When he got to the scene, Egwu alleged that he found a member of the taskforce confiscating his wife’s mobile phone.

He said he demanded that it be returned, arguing that public officials carrying out lawful duties should not object to being filmed.

Rather than return the phone, he alleged that the officials descended on him and his wife.

Egwu identified the leaders of the taskforce as its chairman, Darlington Belema Nwankwo, and secretary, Kennedy Okirie, alleging that they led the operation.

“They all attacked me and my wife, using knives and axes to wound her,” he alleged.

He further claimed that taskforce members were armed with knives, axes and firearms.

“These people were carrying knives, axes and guns. Everybody in the town knows the weapons they use,” he said.

According to Egwu, his wife sustained deep cuts to one of her legs during the attack.

She was initially taken to a private hospital, which referred her to a government facility because of the severity of her injuries.

A video obtained by DAILY POST showed the wound inflicted on the woman. 

The couple subsequently reported the incident at the Divisional Police Headquarters, Oyigbo, where, according to Egwu, they were informed that a complaint had already been lodged against them.

He said the Divisional Crime Officer, after observing the extent of his wife’s injuries, issued them with a police medical report to facilitate her treatment.

Egwu said his wife was eventually admitted to the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, where she is currently receiving treatment.

“She was discharged yesterday, but she has to return every day because there are no bed spaces,” he said.

Beyond the alleged assault, Egwu also accused the local government of sealing his shop, an action he said has denied him access to his business and his family’s only source of income.

He is calling for justice and demanding that those responsible for the alleged attack be held accountable.

Reacting to the allegations, the Chairman of Oyigbo Local Government Area, Akara Okechukwu, confirmed that council officials were at the Egwus’ business premises on the day of the incident.

Okechukwu said roadside trading has remained a major challenge in the local government and that his administration had expanded the market to accommodate traders and encourage them to relocate from the roadsides.

According to him, many traders initially complied with the directive and moved into the newly created market spaces.

However, he alleged that after he returned for a second term in office, some of them, including the woman at the centre of the controversy, resumed trading along the roadside.

Addressing the allegation that the council sealed the couple’s shops, Okechukwu denied ordering such action, insisting that he neither authorised nor directed that the premises be sealed.

Meanwhile, a video in circulation also showed that the shop was sealed by the taskforce.