Between Made-up Story of Lautech Cult Clash and Trigger-happy Policeman: What Happened?

 

On Monday night, a trigger-happy policeman known as Saheed SARS, allegedly gunned down a corps member, identified as Iyanda Damilola and his Ladoke Akintola University of Technology’s fresh graduate brother, Iyanda Oluwafemi, at Reeplay Lounge in Ogbomoso North Local Government Area.

 

Damilola died instantly while Oluwafemi was reportedly dead on Tuesday. But this narrative has suffered a gamut of different perspectives, hitherto.

 

Several sources said that Idam, the owner and director of the Reeplay Lounge called Saheed SARS to settle a dispute between some parties in the lounge and in return, Saheed came to unleash terror and sporadically shot at people seen. It was in the process, Damilola was mowed down, leaving many feared dead.

 

In contrast, a police officer at the Police Area Command Owode, Ogbomoso, clandestinely, said the allegation that the policemen fired the shot that killed the student is false.

 

The officer who preferred to remain anonymous said what happened was that the owner of the Reeplay Lounge called the police officer that suspected cultists were having dispute that is seemly harmful and he wanted the police to settle the rancour. But by the time the police would get to the scene, the gangs already engaged each other in bullet fights and one gang was affected over the other. “The police arrived, the combatants fled, and the deceased was already in his pool of blood. He was already hit before the police got there,” the police officer exclusively revealed to the Ogbomoso Insight.

 

He also queried “Those firing at one another don’t they know guns kill?” He queried. They know guns kill?”

 

Puzzlingly, this revelation by the police officer has been faulted by multiple eyewitnesses who said Saheed pulled the trigger that blew off Iyanda Damilola’s cranium and injured many others.

 

An anonymous source said Damilola was at the lounge to celebrate with his brother, Iyanda Oluwafemi, who graduated from Lautech, on Monday before Saheed blew his brains off leaving, Oluwafemi and many others sustained several bullet wounds.

 

Multiple sources said Oluwafemi breathed his last on Tuesday as the bullet wounds on his body were too deep to bear. But a Punch Newspaper report says otherwise, saying Oluwafemi is still alive and receiving treatment in an undisclosed clinic.

 

The PIJAlance was unable to confirm the authenticity of Oluwafemi’s death but an account from a close associate said, Oluwafemi died on Tuesday while his brother died instantly when shot.

 

“He (Saheed) shot multiple people.
One died instantly because his brain popped out. He was the brother of the one who died this morning (Tuesday). But the third person which was my guy was shot at hand. But he has gone back home now. He was caught by a stray bullet,” a close associate of the victim, told PIJAlance.

 

Owning to the death of the fresh graduate, Lautech students want to protest. So, on Tuesday, they set the stage for it; gridlocked the campus gate, delayed the ongoing convocation ceremony, and moved that protest to the Police Branch’s station at the old Sabo market, nearly opposite Lautech gate in the city. Surprisingly, the police officers took it up and responded aggressively. Eyewitnesses say they were shot at on sight and about five to six people were affected.

 

“Omo I went to protest and we were in the police station where the police opened fire. They started aiming at us. Thank God I and my bro and our friends survived oo. They killed like 5 to 6 people on sight,” an eyewitness says.

 

PIJAlance gathered that the trigger-happy officer, Saheed, is an operative of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Oyo State Police Command who is widely recognised by the students of Lautech for assaults, most especially “Yahoo boys”.

 

Saheed was said to have pulled the trigger that ended the life of Jimoh Isiaq, the first victim to be killed during the 2020 EndSARS protest in Ogbomoso. Isiaq was hit by a stray bullet.

 

In 2020, Saheed was heavily criticised on social media platforms after he reportedly posed with a white Mercedez Benz car he claimed to have bought.

 

Three years ago, Saheed was said to have been transferred from the Ogbomoso Police Divisional Headquarters, owning to the terror he unleashed during the EndSARS protest. But now he is back, ricocheting bullets into civilians’ skins, a source says.

 

Abiodun Oluwaseun, a Special Adviser to Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and past SUG President of Lautech, while expressing his opinion on the incident, took to his WhatsApp statuses to confirm the two brothers were shot, with one dead instantly while the other sustained injuries.

 

In a repeatedly four WhatsApp statuses, Oluwaseun condemned the action of the police officer, calling out the management of the Reeplay Lounge to keep the CCTV cameras very safe.

 

“So how do we explain this, a policeman was called to settle a squash between two people, and instead of the law enforcer to settle the fight or arrest them, he shot sporadically into the air and shot two brothers who were not even fighting, One of them is dead and the other is injured. From all reports, the owner of replay lounge invited him to settle the squash, I have tried reaching out to him for his side of the story and put clarity as to why he did not try to help the victims to the hospital, he did not pick up my calls. I understand that there are CCTV cameras installed at the replay lounge, it’s better they are not tampered with.”

 

Oluwaseun wants the key stakeholders of the Lautech to take critical action on the issue. Addressing this on WhatsApp he said, “I understand this unfortunate event didn’t happen inside the campus but outside of it, the critical stakeholders of the university must not overlook the situation, for the sake of the parents and the younger brother who will live with that stigma for life and for other students who might later be affected from the unprofessional act of some trigger happy policemen.”

 

Despite this, Lautech Management has yet to reveal an official statement on the incident as of the time of filing this report.

 

The Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adewale Osifeso, has also said an investigation was ongoing on the matter and that updates would be provided accordingly.

 

“Investigation is ongoing. Updates will be provided accordingly, please,” he wrote in a text message.

 

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