By Ado Oyeyemi
The Osun State Police Command has identified the two civilians killed during a violent attack on a police patrol team along the Ibadan-Ife Expressway in Ikire, Irewole Local Government Area of the state.
The deceased were identified as 49-year-old Nurení Sobowale of Odeda Area, Abeokuta, and 43-year-old Saheed Akinrole of Adeagbo Compound, Ikire.
The command, in a statement by its spokesperson, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, said the incident occurred around 11am on Monday after officers from the Ikire Divisional Police Headquarters responded to a distress call concerning the alleged abduction of a man identified only as Sunkanmi.
According to the police, the officers, accompanied by the Divisional Police Officer, came under attack shortly after arriving at the scene.
The assailants allegedly opened fire on the team and succeeded in dispossessing the officers of an AK-47 rifle.
The police said the attackers subsequently used the stolen weapon to shoot indiscriminately, killing Sobowale and Akinrole.
The command added that the rifle was later abandoned and recovered, while the vehicle involved in the incident was found riddled with bullet holes and its windscreen destroyed.
Nine spent ammunition shells were also recovered from the scene and secured for forensic analysis, the police said.
Two police officers reportedly sustained serious injuries during the attack and were initially treated at a nearby hospital before being transferred to the University College Hospital, Ibadan, for further treatment.
The remains of the two victims have been deposited at the Oluyoro Catholic Mortuary, while their families have been notified.
Following the incident, the newly deployed Commissioner of Police in Osun State, CP Ibrahim Zungura, visited the scene and ordered a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding the violence.
He also directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State Criminal Investigation Department to lead the probe.
The command said tactical and intelligence personnel had been deployed to the area to track down and arrest those behind the attack.
It appealed to members of the public with relevant information to contact the nearest police station or security authorities.
The police urged residents to remain calm and vigilant, assuring them that security measures were being intensified to restore normalcy along the affected route.
The incident occurred amid reports of a dispute over the control of a motor park around Naira and Kobo Junction in Ikire, where rival groups were said to have clashed.
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The police, however, did not state whether the reported motor park dispute was directly connected to Monday’s attack.
