Three residents of Okeho town in Kajola Local Government Area, Oyo State, and a policeman have been reportedly killed in a clash between the police, hunters, and members of a vigilante group on Thursday.
It was gathered that the fight started following the insistence of the residents to kill the robbery suspect arrested alive while the policemen were bent on rescuing him and taking him to custody.
Some armed robbers had on Wednesday evening attacked a branch of First Bank in the town and killed a policeman.
Four of the armed robbers were also said to have been killed by hunters who blocked the road and prevented them from escaping. The corpses were later burnt by the angry residents.
The hunters were said to have pursued the other two robbers that escaped and while one was arrested alive, the corpse of the injured one was recovered from the bush.
One of the residents who preferred not to be mentioned told newsmen that “there is a serious crisis in Okeho now”.
He said, “Somebody was accidentally shot dead by the police while they were attempting to take away the armed robber arrested by the hunters.
“Residents also fought back and killed a policeman. This infuriated the policemen and they opened fire on the crowd and killed two more persons.”
The Police Public Relations Officer in Oyo State, Mr Olugbenga Fadeyi, did not answer the calls from our correspondent and has yet to reply to the text message sent to him on the incident.
Details to follow…