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The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) has condemned the murder and arson charges against three of its members that handed over the Fulani ‘warlord’, Abdullah Iskilu Wakili, to the police.
The three members of the group– Awodele Adedigba, Dauda Kazeem, and Hassan Ramon were on Wednesday arraigned before an Oyo State Chief Magistrates Court, sitting at Iyaganku, Ibadan, on six counts of conspiracy, arson, and murder.
The group, in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Yinka Oguntimehin, said it was shocked that the police accused the three members of murder and arson, adding that the group will seek justice against the unjust arrest, arraignment, and charges against the trio.
“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 is discouraging.
“People tend to be discouraged most times when things like these happened because there is no way organisation like ours 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 our region is safe against criminal elements,” the statement said.
OPC, alongside other local security and vigilante groups in Ibarapa, had on March 7, arrested Wakili and three others after several attempts that culminated in a gun battle.
Wakili was nabbed barely seven days after his alleged second-in-command, Isiaka Muhammadu, was arrested alongside four others, by the Oyo State chapter of the OPC.
He was handed over to the Divisional Police Officer in Igboora, Oyo State, from where the case was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, 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 members on bail and later charged them to the magistrate’s court.