In the early hours of Tuesday, a resident of Iwo in Osun State was allegedly shot and killed by a hunter, the identity of whom has not been revealed.
Iwo locals stated that the event happened at around 3:00am in the morning in the Latico area of Iwo. They further stated that when a local citizen showed up at the scene and called the police, the suspect was trying to leave the body before dawn.
Police officers who were dispatched to the spot in response to the distress call made an arrest of the culprit. Disappointed with the incident, however, the locals staged a protest and lit bonfires on the major road.
However, prompt security agency action put an end to the protest, according to Kehinde Adeleke, the state spokesperson for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
“On April 2, 2024, information reached the NSCDC Office, Latico Area Iwo,” She stated. “A local hunter shot a man dead at a junction in the area around 03:00 am on Tuesday.”
It was thought that the hunter intended to remove the body before dawn. However, a different local encountered him there and informed the authorities. When the hunter was taken into custody by the police, some boys in the area began lighting protest bonfires.
“The NSCDC, Iwo, and other sister agencies were dispatched to the area in an attempt to control the situation.”
The Police Public Relations Officer for Osun Command, Yemisi Opalola, confirmed the occurrence in a statement and stated that an investigative team had been sent to piece together the events leading up to the deceased’s killing.
The statement said, in part, “The Osun State Police Command is upset about the news of a man being shot and killed in Iwo, despite ongoing public warnings and public sensitization campaigns about gun use, particularly among hunters and other local security groups.”
“The command is using this medium to appeal to members of the public, especially the Iwo residents and the family of the deceased, to remain calm and not to take the law into their own hands as the command has assembled a team of private detectives to look into the circumstances leading up to the man’s shooting and killing in the town.”
Opalola warned the public, especially hunters and other local security groups, against the misuse of firearms and urged them to adhere by the laws governing the use of guns in order to prevent the killing of innocent individuals. Opalola said the suspect had been identified, apprehended, and was in police custody.
According to reports, the Osun State Police Command issued a warning to the locals in February of this year against improper use of guns, specifically directed at hunters.
According to a statement released by Opalola, the warning was issued by the command in response to several complaints of unintentional discharges that have resulted in fatalities and numerous injuries.