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A middle-aged woman, identified as Mrs Olufunmilayo, was reportedly attacked and killed by yet to be identified assailants in Akinyele area of Ibadan on Thursday.
It was gathered that residents of Ori-Oke Olurunkole woke up to the sad news of the incident on Friday morning.
Akinyele area has been experiencing alleged ritual killings in the last few months. Since June, when the first incident was recorded, almost 10 people have been reportedly killed in the area by suspected ritualists
Aggrieved by the latest development, it was learnt that angry youths in the area embarked on a violent protest, which led to an attack on the Moniya police station.
Speaking with Vanguard newspaper, the Police Public Relations Officer in Oyo State, SP Gbenga Fadeyi, who confirmed the incident, disclosed that the the woman died of the injuries inflicted on her by the assailants at the University College Hospital (UCH) on Thursday night.
He said : “The information got to us from Moniya Police Divisional Crime Officer that around 4:00pm yesterday (Thursday), one Mrs Olufunmilayo was attacked and macheted on the head. In the process, she sustained serious injuries.
“The assailants ran away. She was taken to the University College Hospital (UCH) for immediate medical attention where she died later in the night. And youths in the area came out this morning (Friday) and started protesting on the issue and at the end of the day, they started attacking policemen from Moniya area command.
“They seriously attacked our men, trying to cause breakdown of law and order. They took laws into their hands, which is not supposed to be the next thing to do.
“The police are always there to do what they are supposed to do and we will continue to do more.
“If incident like this happened, they should allow the police to look into it and investigate, in order to unravel the mystery behind it, not to carry out protest.
“But as the case is now, no arrest has been made, because we are still investigating the matter. We will surely get the details.”
Reacting to the unfornate incident, the caretaker chairman of Akinyele local government, Mr. Taoreed Jimoh, revealed what led to the protest by the angry youths.
“We heard that the woman was macheted, she was rescued immediately and taken to UCH, but we heard the report that she died this morning.
“That was what prompted residents to embark on a mass protest. Unfortunately, the peaceful protest was hijacked by hoodlums. The hoodlums went to the extent of pelting security operatives with stones and other objects, but with the help of God, peace is gradually returning to the area and it is under control.
“I have called Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations and he has deployed more officers to the area. Also, I called the Area Commander and Federal SARS and other security operatives and local security agents such as Soludero and others. They have all arrived in the area to calm the situation. The Alakinyele of Akinyele, Oba James Odeniran was also on ground to rescue few police officers that the hoodlums manhandled.
“The killing was carried out by suspected ritualists. Residents suspected a ritualist who was reportedly arrested by the police but allegedly escaped from their custody. He was seen in Akinyele two days ago and yesterday, the residents had to raise alarm and people are suspecting he was the one that carried out the dastardly act,” Jimoh said.