A youth leader from Ayete Community in Ibarapa zone of Oyo State, Ganiyu Omirinde, has been invited by the Commissioner of Police in the state, Ngozi Onadeko, to come forward and substantiate his claims that farmers whose crops were destroyed by the now arrested Fulani ‘warlord’, Iskilu Wakili, were being detained and N50,000 demanded from them as bail.
The spokesman for the police in the state, CSP Olugbenga Fadeyi, said on Saturday, March 20, 2021, that the request was as a result of an interview published on page 3 of The Punch newspaper on Monday March 15, 2021, in which Omirinde alleged that complainants were often detained, and N50,000 demanded from them as bail before their release.
According to the PPRO, the youth leader had claimed that this attitude of the police had discouraged residents (of the Ayete community) from lodging further complaints on any Fulani/herders case in the divisions.
But the police spokesman described the publication as a “misrepresentation.”
“Though the interview was conducted, the publication made about him in that regard was an absolute misrepresentation.
“On the strength of this, the CP wishes to state emphatically that the publication is misrepresented news that has no basis or backing, hence, the command is seeking a better collaboration with the press and the general public in the propagation of accurate information.
“While the command will continue to put in place security apparatus to further strengthen the security architecture and relative peace being enjoyed in the state, the Commissioner of Police urges all and sundry not to desist from being law abiding citizens in the state, but to constantly support the police with credible and timely information.”