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Members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) detained by the Oyo State Police Command for arresting notorious Fulani herder, Iskilu Wakili, have been released on bail.
It was gathered that the police released the three detained OPC members on health grounds for them to seek medical attention.
The three detained OPC members are Dauda Kazeem, Awodele Adedigba and Ramon Hassan.
The Coordinator of OPC in Oyo State, Rotimi Olumo, disclosed this to newsmen on Tuesday.
He said:“The three men were released on bail today from the State Criminal Investigation Department in Iyaganku, Ibadan.
“The police released them on health condition; the three men are seriously ill and need urgent medical attention.
“The police said the three of them should report regularly at the state CID for the ongoing investigation.”
Olumo had also said the men were not moved from the state to Abuja as reported in some sections of the media.
Members of the OPC had on Sunday arrested Wakili accused of terrorising villages in the Ibarapa area of the state.
The OPC later handed over Wakili to the Oyo State Police Command but the police subsequently detained the three OPC members for allegedly burning down Wakili’s house and killing an unidentified woman in the process.
However, OPC said the murder and arson allegations were false, adding that it immediately handed over Wakili and three of his accomplices to the police in Igboora after their arrest.
Before Wakili’s arrest, farmers and residents of Ayete, Kajola and neighbouring communities in Ibarapa land lived in perpetual fear of Wakili, who was accused of displacing them from their farms, kidnapping their rich men for ransom and raping their women.
Meanwhile, OPC has said it will not stop arresting criminals threatening peace in any part of Yorubaland.
The National Coordinator of group, Ina Gani Adams, in a press statement, on Tuesday, described the detention of the OPC members as “unjust.”
Adams, who is also the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, in the statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Aderemi, decried the detention of the men.
He noted that OPC will continue to ensure the arrest of criminals in collaboration with security agencies.
“The most important news is that the police had released our men in their custody, and it is great. I want to appreciate everybody that have raised their voices against the unjust detention, including well-meaning Nigerians, public opinion experts, socio-cultural groups, such as Afenifere, Yoruba Summit Group and the media for their support while the situation lasts.
“I want to assure Nigerians that the OPC will continue to support and complement the efforts of all security agencies, including the police in ensuring that the South West is safe,” Adams said.