How Oyo miscreants destroyed and razed the police station to the ground

After the scarcity of fuel and new Naira notes, some miscreants within the popular Araromi spare parts, Gate, took advantage of protests in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo state on Friday and set fire to the police station and vandalized the WEMA bank in the area.

The peaceful protest, which began on Iwo road, suddenly turned brutal as protesters vandalized both government and private property along the roads.

The angry youths, who had previously gathered on Iwo road, the end of the Lagos-Ibadan highway, blocked all the main roads and created artificial barriers before heading towards Idi-Ape Agodi-Gate.

Investigations by our correspondent revealed that they descended on passers-by and blocked all roads to Agodi’s government building and the governor’s office before security personnel arrived.

At Agodi-Gate, the market miscreants took advantage of the protest by setting fire to the police station, destroying WEMA Bank, stealing phones and looting some shops along the way.

Unconfirmed reports say one of the plasma TVs and other valuables in the police station were taken away by the gangsters before Operation Burst arrived, which restored sanity to the area.

The PUNCH’s reporter, Ademola Adegbite, was out of luck as he was beaten mercilessly for taking some shots, while his mobile phone and other valuables were confiscated from him before they later returned only the mobile phone.

The youth, armed with dangerous weapons, therefore moved towards the entrance of the Oyo State Secretariat thereby blocking part of the road connecting Bodija to the Secretariat axis with burning fire.

They broke into the Secretariat of State and went straight to the Governor’s office where a police inspector on duty was injured. He was allegedly stoned to death by the demonstrators as he tried to prevent them from entering the headquarters.

He was later rushed to the clinic for proper treatment.

The protesters were demobilized by the state’s joint security unit known as Operation Burst, police and Amotekun agents.

From the State Secretariat they moved to the Mokola roundabout, Adamasingba and Dugbe pelted people with stones and other dangerous substances.

Meanwhile, the state police order has warned youths to avoid being used by violent cops looking to take advantage of the situation to criminally enrich themselves as the general election quickly approaches.

A statement from state police Public Relations Officer Adewale Osifeso said the command was fully prepared to fully mobilize to prevent the criminal elements from turning the state into their playground.

He said the available information revealed that certain unscrupulous elements have perfected plans to hijack the current situation by attacking places of interest.

Osifeso said: “Members of the public are hereby advised, especially with regard to the youth segment, to avoid being used by agents of violence who wish to take advantage of the situation to criminally enrich themselves, especially as we move towards the general election of Navigating 2023, as the command is fully prepared to fully mobilize to prevent these criminal elements from turning the state into their playground.

“The state police command wants to inform members of the public to keep calm and keep the peace even amid protests that have erupted in several parts of the metropolis over the rise in fuel pump price and unavailability of cash for dispensing at ATMs and Point of sale terminal, especially in the capital.

“It is worth noting that the information available reveals that certain unscrupulous elements have perfected plans to hijack the process, escalating the situation into complete chaos by closing down and attacking places of importance, including but not limited to INEC facilities, banks, media houses, schools, correctional centers, and other critical infrastructures, including looting major malls and business centers in the state.

“As a result of the above, residents would witness high-octane patrols in coordination with relevant sister security agencies, all in an effort to boost residents’ confidence and also reassure them of the state police order’s commitments to comprehensive security for all residents of the state.”