Five arrested for alleged burning of Ondo police station
The Ondo State Police Command said it had arrested no fewer than five persons in connection with the alleged burning down of a police station in Ifon Community, the headquarters of Ose Local Government Area of the state.
A crisis broke out in the community as some angry youths allegedly protested against the death of a young man, Tolu Bobade, in the police station in the town last Saturday.
The protest reportedly led to the burning of the Divisional Police Station in the community. However, no life was lost in the protest.
Speaking with journalists on Tuesday, the Commissioner of Police, Mr Wilfred Afolabi, confirmed the arrest of the suspects at the command’s headquarters in Akure, the state capital.
The CP who condemned the attack stated that a full investigation had begun into the incident, and warned the residents of the state against taking the law into their own hands whenever there was an issue.
Afolabi said, “There are proper institutions to seek justice. We have succeeded in arresting five suspects, and they are currently in our custody at the headquarters.
“Ifon cannot function without a police station, and every right-thinking person in the community knows that setting it ablaze was a mistake. When people take such actions, they undermine the rule of law.
My advice is that in future incidents, we should act with civility and follow due process instead of resorting to violence.”
Meanwhile, the family of Bobade in Ifon Community has said its son , Tolu Bobade, was wrongly arrested and tortured by the police, which later led to his death.
In a statement by a member of the family, Dupe Bobade, on behalf of the family and made available to our correspondent on Monday, the Bobade family explained that the death of Tolu sparked up the anger of the people and the alleged police’s refusal to provide explanations or take responsibility for their actions.
He said, “On the day of the incident, Tolu Bobade, a minor and innocent soul, was arrested by officers from the Ifon Police Division under the directive of the Divisional Police Officer, Mr. Isadare Funminiyi, while he was in the neighbourhood visiting a sick friend. Tolu was wrongly apprehended alongside others for allegations he knew nothing about. At the police station, he was subjected to brutal torture, leading to his untimely death.
“Upon realising that Tolu had died in custody, the police secretly took his body to the Adelabu Hospital at Ifon, where it was rejected. They later transported his body to the FMC Owo, where it was deposited at the morgue without the knowledge or consent of his family. Shockingly, to date, the police have neither informed the family of Tolu’s demise nor disclosed the whereabouts of his body.”
Bobade also denied the media report that youths attacked the police station as he stated that “the community’s reaction was borne out of outrage and grief over the unjust death of Tolu, compounded by the police’s refusal to provide explanations or take responsibility for their actions.”
