Amotekun hands over killer corps to police, arrest seven others

Etim Effiong

Western Nigeria Security Network, Amotekun, has handed over one of its operatives, Afolabi Kazeem to the Police for killing one Tosin Thomas by firing shots into the crowd.

Thomas, who was dismissed from the security network, is to be investigated and prosecuted by the police.

The Commandant of the Amotekun Corps, Colonel Olayinka Olayanju (rtd), in a statement on Thursday in Ibadan said seven other corps, who were members of the team at work during the killing, had also been dismissed.

The statement read: “At about 10 pm., on Wednesday, January 13, 2021, operatives of Amotekun, led by Team Leader, George Idowu, got an alert of a purported armed robbery operation at Total Filling Station, Mokola, Ibadan.

“Following the distress call, the team leader and his team of seven members, arrived at the scene.

“On arrival at the scene of the alleged crime, it turned out that it was not an armed robbery operation, though a crowd had gathered.

“The team leader, sensing no immediate danger to anyone at the scene, immediately proceeded to speak with the station manager. While he was with the manager, he heard a gunshot.

“As it turned out, one of his team members, by name, Afolabi Kazeem, who felt sufficiently threatened by the crowd, which included some hoodlums armed with cutlasses and other dangerous weapons, opened fire to supposedly scare away the crowd.

“Unfortunately, his shot hit one Mr Tosin Thomas, who was subsequently confirmed dead.”

The commandant stated that the corps has found that Kazeem with Ammunition Number AM031849 acted outside the Amotekun Corps’ protocols.

“For this reason, he has been summarily dismissed from the corps and handed over to the police for prosecution.

“His team leader, George Idowu, and six others, which formed the entire patrol team, have also been dismissed from Amotekun Corps.

“We want to reassure members of the public of our internal mechanisms for dealing with erring officers.

“We will continue to train and retrain our officers on best practices and rules of engagement.

“The Corps deeply regrets the loss to the Thomas family, and we are already in touch with the family,” he added.