…police arrest gang leader, father, 9 other suspects
By Ahmed Ajikobi
In what seemed an action packed movie on Tuesday, men of the Vigilante, Kwara State Command deflected bullets fired at them by suspected members of Badoo fraternity at Isale Jagun area, Okelele, Ilorin East Local Government Area of the state.
The ugly incident according to an eye witness was said to have occurred around 4pm as a proclaimed special prayer organised by the badoo boys reportedly turned out to be a fraternity event.
Speaking with our reporter yesterday, the eye witness said, “Some boys at Isale Jagun, Okelele area, hired five vigilante men as security on the pretext that they were organising a special prayer but surprisingly, the event turned out otherwise.
“The event started well but it got to a point when no one could understand the message being passed by those boys among themselves. They all wore white T-shirt with Badoo inscribed on it.”
The source added that when the vigilante men tried to ascertain what was really going on by talking to the leader of the group, they were attacked by the Badoo fraternity.
“To disperse the crowd, the Badoo boys shot sporadically into the air and just as the vigilante men were trying to calm the situation, the boys shot at the security men. However to the surprise of everyone, the vigilante kept deflecting the bullets by brushing it down,” he divulged.
Also, one of the vigilante men who witnessed the scene but pleaded anonymity, said, he and his colleagues were on a peace mission but the Badoo boys turned it to a shooting spree.
“They invited us as security for a special prayer not knowing that they have a different agenda. We however tried to dialogue with them when we discovered that what they were doing is against the law of our nation and also dangerous to the society.
“We tried to calm the situation but they attacked us instead. We even drew a defence parameter yet they rained bullets on us but we thank God none of was hit by the bullets,” he stated.
Speaking further, he said while the vigilante men were trying to arrest them alive, the Badoo boys multiplied in number.
“At that point, we had to call for reinforcement from our headquarters at Gaa-Saka and we also sought the help of the police.
“Immediately, the Badoo boys sighted our patrol van coming on speed, they started shooting at our colleagues and the vehicle instantly lost two tyres.
“Our men rushed down but the boys continued shooting at them but no one was hit by the bullets. However, one of the Badoo boys who shot at our men was injured by his gun losing four of his left fingers.
“We were able to arrest the injured one among them and when one of his colleagues sneaked in to check on him at our command, he was also nabbed while trying to scale the fence.”
The source added that the arrested Badoo boys were handed over to the DPO Adewole Police Station, who led his team to the vigilante headquarters on Tuesday.
Confirming the incident, yesterday, the Director Intelligence, Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN), Kwara State Command, Saka Ibrahim said his men collaborated with the police to arrest the situation.
Meanwhile, a police source last night confirmed the arrest of the gang leader, his father and nine other suspects.
According to him, upon being alerted by the vigilante men, policemen from various divisions in Ilorin were deployed to the scene of the incident.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP, Ajayi Okasanmi said he could not confirm the identity of the suspects or number of arrest.
“I can’t say whether they are Badoo or not but the case is currently undergoing investigation and police is working extensively to make sure that no such horror takes place in this state,” he said.
Okasanmi however urged members of the public to always provide the police with any information that will help in combating crime in the state.
