Police in Oyo have denied reports on social media that a policeman shot and killed a young man during the #EndSARS protest in Ogbomoso on Saturday.
Commissioner of Police Nwachukwu Enwonwu in a statement signed by the command’s spokesperson Fadeyi Gbenga said the police did not fire a shot or kill any protester.
The statement read: “The CP wishes to state that the Police allowed the protesters to express their feelings during the protest and they were not hindered in any form until when they started throwing stones into the Police premises and attempted to gain entrance into the premises.”
Social media users have been spreading the alleged victim’s name as Jimoh Isiaq whom they say was a student of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH).
The police commissioner, however, admitted that the police used tear gas “to disperse them from gaining entrance into the Owode Ogbomoso Area Command/Police Station to disperse them and preventing them from gaining entrance and attacking the station.”
“The Police did not fire a shot or kill any protester as widely circulated. The CP in his earlier press release had sought for collaborations of parents/guardian, religious and community leaders, leaders of thought, etc to wade in and appeal to these angry youths to exercise patience, give the Police Command some time to properly reform SARS,” the statement added.
