POLICE ACCUSED OF KILLING FATHER OF FIVE IN IKIRE SHOOTING AS FAMILY DEMANDS INDEPENDENT PROBE

The Nigeria Police Force has been accused of killing a father of five, identified as Nureni Olatona, during a shooting at Naira and Kobo Junction in Ikire, Osun State, with a civil society group and the deceased’s family demanding an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.

The allegation was made by the Youths for Better Initiative in a statement signed by its Chairman, Raufu Sodiq, on Tuesday, August 25, 2026.

According to the group, Olatona, an indigene of Odeda, Abeokuta, Ogun State, was travelling to Bayelsa State, where he worked, after attending a function in Ibadan with his family on Monday, August 24, when he was caught in the shooting.

The group alleged that Olatona boarded a commercial vehicle and sat in the front seat, while his wife and other passengers occupied the rear seats.

It claimed that the vehicle came under a hail of gunfire at Naira and Kobo Junction during what it described as a violent struggle over control of the motor park.

The organisation specifically accused CSP Bamidele Olatona, the Divisional Police Officer of Ikire Division, and his men of opening fire indiscriminately at people caught in the crossfire.

According to the group, a stray bullet struck Nureni Olatona, killing him as he passed through the area.

“Yesterday, 24th August 2026, around 11:00 am, the peace of Ikire was desecrated at the Naira and Kobo junction by an orgy of violence that has left a family shattered and a state grieving,” Sodiq said.

The group further alleged that an Area Commander who arrived at the scene after the shooting removed spent bullet casings, an action it said could have compromised evidence required for a proper investigation.

“What followed compounded the tragedy. According to eyewitness accounts, the Area Commander arrived and evacuated all spent bullet casings from the scene, leaving no forensic trace,” Sodiq alleged.

The group said both the incoming and outgoing Commissioners of Police later addressed residents following the incident, while Olatona’s family was invited to the police station to make statements.

It, however, alleged that no concrete action had been taken against those it accused of responsibility as of Tuesday.

“Yet as of the time of this release, nothing has been done. The silence is deafening,” Sodiq said.

The group warned that the circumstances surrounding Olatona’s death must not be allowed to be swept under the carpet.

“A democracy that cannot account for the blood of an innocent citizen is a democracy in name only,” Sodiq said.

The organisation said Olatona left behind five children, including a 200-level Mechanical Engineering student whose education and future could be affected by the loss of his father.

It called on the Osun State Government and the Nigeria Police Force to constitute an independent panel to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death.

“We, the people of conscience, demand immediate and transparent action. The Osun State Government and the Nigeria Police Force must constitute an independent panel to investigate the killing of Mr Nureni,” Sodiq said.

The group also demanded the prosecution of any police officer or other person found responsible, regardless of rank or position.

“Anyone found culpable regardless of rank or office must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Evidence must be preserved, not evacuated. Justice must be seen to be done,” it said.

“Mr. Nureni came to Osun in peace. He should have left it in peace. We will not allow his blood to be silenced. We will not allow Ikire to become a graveyard of impunity,” the group added.

It further appealed to the authorities to act swiftly, arguing that justice for Olatona would have wider implications for Nigerians travelling through the state.

“Justice for Mr. Nureni is justice for every Nigerian on transit. Let the law speak, and let it speak now,” Sodiq said.

However, the police have given a different account of the incident, saying gunmen attacked a patrol team led by the Ikire DPO, CSP Bamidele Olatona.

According to a police incident report signed by SP Isaac Banjo, 2IC, Area Command Ikire, the officers were conducting a routine patrol along the Ibadan-Ife Expressway when they were attacked by “some unknown thugs” at about 11 a.m. on Monday.

The police said four officers were injured during the attack, while two civilians were fatally hit.

The deceased were identified by the police as Nureni Sobowale, 49, from the Odeda area of Abeokuta, and Saheed Akinrole, 43, of Adeagbo Compound, Ikire.

The police said an AK-47 rifle with breech number 24570 and 30 rounds of ammunition was snatched from the officers during the attack.

The attackers also reportedly took away the police patrol van after destroying its windscreen. The vehicle was later recovered at the Irewole Local Government Secretariat.

According to the police, nine expended ammunition cases were recovered at the scene.

The injured officers were identified as Insp. Arogundade Sunday, ASP Ogbuefi Zaccheus, CPL Adeagbo Ponle and PC Oyelade Aliyulahi.

The police said the deceased had been deposited at Oluyoro Catholic Mortuary and their families contacted, while the injured officers were taken to Dove Hospital for treatment.

Arogundade was later referred to the University College Hospital, Ibadan, for further treatment.

The police said efforts were ongoing to identify and arrest the attackers and recover the stolen rifle and ammunition.

The incident had earlier prompted the Osun State chapter of the Accord Party to demand the arrest and prosecution of CSP Olatona, accusing him of opening fire on civilians at the garage.

The party alleged that Bamidele Olatona “personally stormed the public garage and opened fire sporadically into a crowd of unarmed civilians.”

The police have not, however, publicly confirmed the specific allegation that the DPO opened fire on civilians.

The conflicting accounts have raised questions over what exactly transpired at Naira and Kobo Junction and the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the two civilians.

While the police maintain that their patrol team came under attack by suspected thugs and that two civilians were fatally hit during the incident, the Youths for Better Initiative and the Accord Party have separately raised allegations of police involvement in the shooting.

The demand for an independent investigation is therefore expected to focus on establishing who fired the shots that killed the civilians, preserving available ballistic and forensic evidence, determining the circumstances under which the police rifle and patrol vehicle were allegedly taken, and establishing whether any police officer or other individual acted unlawfully.

For the family of Nureni Olatona, the circumstances surrounding his death remain a matter of urgent concern, with the Youths for Better Initiative insisting that those found responsible must face prosecution regardless of their rank or position.