Mr. Odobaba Babatunde has been paraded by the Kwara state police on
charges of possession of firearms, but he claimed to have bought the
locally made gun from a blacksmith in readiness for any possible
attack on his community by Fulani herdsmen.
Babatunde, 35, said his
community, Agatu, in Benue
State had before been
attacked by Fulani herdsmen.
Speaking after being paraded by the Commissioner of Police, Kwara
State Command, Mr. Olusola Amore in Ilorin, Babatunde alleged that
Fulani herdsmen had wreaked havoc in his
community over the years and he could no longer watch his people die
cheaply. Babatunde said,
"Our community and Fulani
herdsmen have been having
clashes for a long time. A
blacksmith made the gun for
me. I got the gun so that I can protect myself against
herdsmen attacks. But since I bought the gun, there have been no
attacks." The police said the suspect was nabbed by the Special
Anti-Robbery Squad operatives of Kwara State Police Command while on a
patrol along Eruku/Omu-Aran Road on Monday at about 5.20pm.
Amore said when a search
was conducted on the
suspect, a locally-made pistol
with two live cartridges was
found on him. Amore said the suspect would be charged to court after
the conclusion of investigation. Meanwhile, the CP said 20 people had
been arrested in connection with cult clashes in Ilorin, the Kwara
State capital. He stated that after profiling
the 20 suspects, six of them
were identified to have been
indicted over recent clashes
and killings in the state.
Amore, who spoke through
the command's Public
Relations Officer, Mr. Ajayi
Okasanmi, during a briefing
in Ilorin, said the police had
launched a manhunt for other fleeing members of the
suspects' gangs. He stated that the indicted
suspects would be arraigned
after the completion of
investigation. Though the CP said four
people were killed during
recent cult clashes between
last week Thursday and
Saturday. It was learnt that about eight
people were killed while
many others sustained
varying degrees of injuries
during the cult war. Areas mostly affected by the
clashes are Ikokoro, Kilanko,
Oyun, Olunlade, Osere, Niger,
Olufadi, Egebejila and Ita -
Ogunbo areas of Ilorin. The CP said normalcy had
returned to the troubled
areas, adding that the
command would continue to
ensure safety of lives and
property and reduction of crime in the state.
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