Tension In Osogbo As Police, Garage Boys Clash

 

By Saheed Odunlade

Tension rose in Osogbo at the early hour of Wednesday, as police operatives and Garage boys at Old Garage near Freedom Park engaged in a bloody clash, leading to a policeman and thugs gravely injured in the process.

An eyewitness said the clash ensued when three policemen from Dugbe Police station entered the old-garage on Tuesday to allegedly extort some Garage boys who were alleged of smoking and selling Indian hemp.

The eyewitness said, the Garage boys linked to the chairman of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the area known as ‘Ashiri Eniba’ protested the police personnel action, a situation that led to the shooting of one of the boys identify as Yusuf.

Subsequently, the garage boys reportedly manhandled a policeman among the three and macheted him brutally.

It was gathered that there was total shut down of activities in the ever-busy Old Garage, as the garage boys engaged the police in a clash, leading to people scampering for safety due to the sporadic shooting by the policemen.

During a visit of OSUN DEFENDER to the scene, the police personnel were seeing barricaded the major road with Armoured Personnel Carrier as shops were locked, just as some shop owners were arrested.

An eyewitness told this medium that Yusuf was rushed to Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo in an Osun State Ambulance vehicle and was return by the hospital on the ground that there was no police report to that effect.

Osun State Police Public Relations Officer, Sade Odoro confirmed the incident and denied that one of the thugs was shot.

She added that the police were working to curtail the damages, saying, as at the time of filling this report facts are still emerging, and as at the time, he could not categorically ascertain the detail of what really transpired.

Meanwhile, a woman told this medium that policemen have arrested over 20 persons including drivers, shop owners at the park, saying the police personnel are still on the trail of the chairman of the park, Asiri Eniba