Officers of the Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN), commonly known as Amotekun, shot polytechnic student Olayinka Aguda in the Apata neighbourhood of Ibadan, Oyo State, about 10 months ago and have refused to produce him ever since.
252 days ago, Amotekun officials were summoned to deter armed robbers in Apata but their overzealous action threw Aguda’s family into permanent distress.
FIJ learnt that rather than securing the lives and property of the area’s residents, they employed an aggressive approach, causing chaos by firing several gunshots without caution.
The loud and sudden gunshots from the Amotekun officers woke Aguda, a student at the Polytechnic of Ibadan. Believing that armed robbers had invaded his neighbourhood, the student reportedly fled his house in search of refuge elsewhere.
Lukman Olorunshola, Aguda’s cousin, told FIJ that his cousin fled his home, ultimately leading to what he believes was a tragic outcome.
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“Immediately Aguda woke up, he ran out of his house to seek shelter in a school close to his house. This was when he ran into some Amotekun officers and they shot him,” Olorunshola recounted to FIJ on Thursday.
“To preserve their image and further make the entire neighbourhood believe Aguda was indeed an armed robber, the same officers stormed my cousin’s residence and arrested the four young men they found there. They also claimed that they were robbers and charged them with theft when they took them to Apata Police Station.”
Olorunshola said his cousin’s roommates were released from police custody a few days later but Aguda remained unaccounted for.
According to Olorunshola, the family has exhausted all available avenues to secure the student’s release but to no avail. Despite their limited resources, they have reached out to individuals they believe can offer assistance but their efforts have yielded no results.
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Olorunshola further revealed that their extended family is slowly losing hope of ever reuniting with their son, as they can no longer determine whether he is alive or deceased.
“At present, his parents have lost hope. They are elderly and cannot take much action. Their resignation has also disheartened us. As for me, I fear that the young man may have met his demise. He has been in Amotekun’s custody since December 30,” Olorunshola lamented.
FIJ attempted to contact the official line of Amotekun’s Ido local government branch, the unit responsible for the security of Aguda’s neighbourhood, but the line was unreachable.
A text message sent to the number also went unanswered at the time of this report.
The post 252 Days Later, Family of Ibadan Poly Student Shot by Amotekun Still Unaware if He’s Dead or Alive appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.