OPC Condemns Murder Charge Against Members Over Wakili’s Arrest

 

The Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) has condemned the murder and arson charges filed against three members of the group that handed over the notorious kidnap warlord, Iskilu Wakili, to the police, vowing to seek justice.

In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Yinka Oguntimehin, the group said it was shocking for the police to accuse its members of murder and arson, describing the development as unjust.

He said, “It is most unfortunate that the police have twisted the narratives, accusing our members of arson and murder. The police decision against our members was nothing but a misplaced one and it was discouraging.

“People tend to be discouraged most times when things like this happen, because there is no way organisations that have the capacity to assist the police in ensuring effective security of people will continue without giving it a thought.

“But we wouldn’t be discouraged in our effort. We will always play our roles in ensuring that the South-West region is safe against criminal elements.”

The OPC, alongside the joint team of Ibarapa security, had, on Sunday, March 7, 2021 arrested Wakili and three others after several attempts that culminated in a gun duel.

Wakili, a notorious kidnap kingpin, was nabbed barely seven days after his second-in-command, Isiaka Muhammadu, was arrested alongside four others by the Oyo State Chapter of the OPC on the directives of the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams.

He was arrested at about 7.00 a.m., and handed over to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Igbo-Ora, Oyo State, from where the case was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Iyaganku, Ibadan.

The handing over of Wakili and his gang to the police and the eventual arrest and detention of the three OPC members generated a lot of controversies.

However, the police later released the OPC chieftains on bail and later charged them to the magistrate’s court.