Gbenro Adesina
Oyo State Government has explained the circumstances leading to the death of one Tosin Thomas, 23, in Ibadan, confirming that a member of Amotekun Corps identified as Afolabi Kazeem, who shot the deceased has been immediately dismissed and handed over to police for diligent prosecution.
It was also gathered that other members of the team have equally been dismissed.
The Government spoke through the Amotekun Commandant, Col. Olayanju Olayinka.
Olayinka said, “At about 10pm on Wednesday, January 13, 2021, Operatives of Amotekun, led by Team Leader, George Idowu, got an alert of a purported armed robbery operation at Total Filling Station, Mokola, Ibadan.
“Following the distress call, the Team leader and his team of seven members, arrived the scene.
“On arrival at the scene of the alleged crime, it turned out that it was not an armed robbery operation, though a crowd had gathered.
“The Team Leader, sensing no immediate danger to anyone at the scene immediately proceeded to speak with the station manager. While he was with the manager, he heard a gunshot.
“As it turned out, one of his team members, by the name Afolabi Kazeem, who felt sufficiently threatened by the crowd, which included some hoodlums armed with cutlasses and other dangerous weapons, opened fire to supposedly scare away the crowd. Unfortunately, his shot hit one Mr Tosin Thomas, 23, who was subsequently confirmed dead.
“The Corps has found that Afolabi Kazeem with Ammunition Number AM031849 acted outside the Amotekun Corps’ protocols.
“For this reason, he has been summarily dismissed from the Corps and handed over to the police for prosecution. Also, his Team leader, George Idowu, is being thoroughly investigated and will face all necessary sanctions.
“We want to reassure members of the public of our internal mechanisms for dealing with erring officers. We will continue to train and retrain our officers on best practices and rules of engagement.
“The Corps deeply regrets the loss to the Thomas family, and we are already in touch with the family”.
