Chaos As Police Clash With Suspected Cult Members In Ilorin

There was tension in Ilorin, Kwara State Capital on Saturday when suspected cult members clashed with the police.

During the bloody clash, one police sergeant allegedly sustained gunshot injuries on his head.

The incident, which started in the early hours of Saturday, happened in Lajolo community around Kwara state Polytechnic area.

Unconfirmed source that stray bullet from a gunshot allegedly killed a student of the polytechnic.

Students of the polytechnic trooped out in large numbers to block the ever-busy Ilorin-old Jebba road around Oyun bridge axis.

They also set burnfires from used tyres on the highway, obstructing vehicular movement.

Confirming the incident, Kwara Command Spokesperson Ajayi Okasanmi said: “The pandemonium experienced today within the area arose as a result of the attack unleashed on a team of Police detectives from the Special Tactical Squad (STS) FIB, Abuja, who came on the trail of some cultists in the area.”

Okasanmi added that some suspected cult members had on Friday last week “attacked and killed a student of Kwara State University, Malete, four of the cultists were arrested and dangerous weapons were recovered from the suspects.”

He added: “Information available to the STS team indicated that some of the cultists were hiding at Lajolo area of Kwara Polytechnic Ilorin, where a similar attack was unleashed on one student named Idris Aderemi by same cultists around 6am on Saturday in the same area.

“This prompted the visit to the area by the STS team. Surprisingly, the cultists who were already in ambush, attacked the police team damaging the police Hummer bus and inflicting a gunshot injury on the head of one police Sergeant, Adebayo Abdulahi attached to the STS team.

In the ensuing inbroglio, students in their numbers came out to block the road and prevented free flow of traffic and burning tyres on the road.

“The Commissioner of Police Kwara State, CP Tuesday Assayomo immediately dispatched teams of policemen to the area to restore peace.

However, two cultists, one Ahmed surname unknown and one Musibau A.K.A Shaban were arrested with one fabricated English pistol with three live ammunition, two live cartridges and one pistol magazine.

“The injured policeman and the suspects have been taken to the hospital for treatment.”

The police spokesperson said that “calm has been totally restored in the affected area, while policemen are on standby to forestall any further act of lawlessness from any quarters.”

Also speaking the polytechnic spokesperson Yunus Abdulkadir absolved the students from the fracas, adding that the incident did not happen at the polytechnic’s gate.

Mallam Abdulkadir added that “the incident that occurred at Lajolo community early this morning was between the police and Lajolo community and has nothing to do with the polytechnic students or the campus, as first semester CBT examinations are going on the campus without any disturbance.

“However, the management of the polytechnic has magnanimously accepted the plea of the students who could not make it to the campus before the blockage at Oyun, to reschedule their examinations on another date to be communicated to them via their heads of the department.”