Lawrence Oreoluwa, a resident of Apata in Ibadan, Oyo State, has narrated how operatives of the Amotekun in the state shot at Olayinka Aguda, a student at Polytechnic Ibadan, and took his body away.

Oreoluwa told FIJ that Aguda, a student at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, was a victim of indiscriminate shooting.

He said that on December 30, the Apata neighbourhood asked the Amotekun to come to their aid to ward off the armed robbers in the community, but rather than saving the community, the Amotekun operatives began shooting indiscriminately in the area.

According to Oreoluwa, Aguda, who was fast asleep, woke up because of the ear-splitting cracks of bullets and concluded the armed robbers were close to his residence.

Immediately after Aguda woke up, he ran out of his house to seek shelter in a school close to his house, where the Amotekun shot him.

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“It was normal for him to be scared, as people had been talking about the consistency of armed robberies in the area. As soon as he jumped the fence, the Amotekun shot him,” Oreoluwa told FIJ.

To save face, the Amotekun stormed Aguda’s house, arrested the four young men they found there and presented them to the Apata Police Station as thieves.

“My question now is: ‘Where is Aguda, our friend? Where did they take him to? Everyone in the neighbourhood knows him, but after the Amotekun realised they shot an innocent, they took his body and refused to release it,” he said.

“Whether Aguda is dead or alive, we don’t yet know. All we want is for him to be released.”

In a similar way, Lukman Olorunshola, a cousin of Aguda, told FIJ that since the incident happened on December 30, family and friends of Aguda had been desperately awaiting his return.

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“We’re still looking for Aguda. We want to know if he’s alive or dead. All we’re asking is that they provide him,” Olorunshola told FIJ.

Olorunshola said the desperation to find Aguda led him and some of Aguda’s friends to protest at the Oyo State Government’s house and at the office of the Oyo State Commissioner of Police on Tuesday.

“If we had not protested, the commissioner of police would not have intervened in the release of Aguda’s roommates,” he said.

“If Aguda is not dead, where is he? We went to where the incident happened, and they told us that Amotekun shot someone who they believed was a thief. When we asked the Amotekun to provide the thief they shot, they failed to come up with anything.”

When FIJ called Amotekun, their line was not available. A text message was sent to them, but they had not responded at press time.

Adewale Osifeso, the Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, told FIJ that the matter was under investigation and “updates would be provided accordingly”.