Fresh revelations have surfaced on why operatives of the Inspector-General of Police’s Intelligence Response Team (IGP-IRT) sealed the operational headquarters and Ife Central Office of the Amotekun Corps in Osun State.
The clampdown followed the killing and maiming of residents in Akinlalu, a community in Ife North Local Government Area, allegedly by Amotekun operatives. Reports indicated that three members of the same family were shot dead during a market invasion, while another person was hacked to death. Several others were left with gunshot wounds.
The Amotekun Commandant, Mr Isaac Omoyele, later alleged that he survived an assassination attempt—an assertion swiftly dismissed by the police.
Following the incident, the IGP’s IRT team arrested 25 Amotekun personnel on Wednesday night and sealed the outfit’s operational armoury at Oke-Fia, Osogbo, alongside its Ife Central office.
At the weekend, The Nation joined the IGP-IRT team led by SP Rotimi Ogunmuyiwa and Deputy Commissioner of CID, Bayonle Suliaman, during an inspection of the Amotekun headquarters at Powerline area, Osogbo.
While the commandant was absent, the team was received by the Chairman of the Amotekun Board, Mr Wale Abbas. The officers noted that Amotekun leadership had created several specialised departments, including Anti-Cultism, Narcotics, Kidnapping, and Homicide Units, and directed that all such units should henceforth report to the Osun State Police Command.
During the inspection, the IRT team uncovered five poorly maintained detention cells—one of them with a dwarf iron-barred entrance—and found four detainees who had allegedly been held for over six weeks.
One of the detainees claimed: “They asked me to pay ₦150,000 bail for selling Indian hemp.”
The police team ordered that the detainees be transferred to the nearest divisional police headquarters, stressing that Amotekun lacked authority to detain suspects beyond 24 hours.
The police action, however, drew sharp criticism from the Osun State House of Assembly. Speaker Adewale Egbedun described the closure as “constitutionally offensive” and a “direct affront to state authority.”
He stated: “It is deeply troubling that an agency lawfully established and funded by the Osun State Government could be shut down without due consultation. At a time when insecurity is on the rise, this is the moment to reinforce Amotekun, not seal it.”
Egbedun also hinted at alleged political undertones, accusing Senator Francis Fadahunsi and former Governor Gboyega Oyetola of meddling in the matter.
“If true, such actions represent a reckless abuse of political influence and betrayal of public trust,” the Speaker said.
In response, Senator Fadahunsi (Osun East) dismissed the Assembly’s claims, alleging that Amotekun had turned into a “house of killers.”
He said: “From February till date, 12 of my constituents have been killed by Amotekun. This has nothing to do with politics. I cannot fold my arms while my people are slaughtered. They will not kill a goat in my district again.”
Civil society groups in the state have also waded into the controversy. The Osun Civil Societies Coalition, led by Comrade Waheed Lawal, demanded the immediate suspension of Amotekun operations and prosecution of those involved in the killings.
The coalition called for a judicial panel of inquiry under the state’s Tribunals of Inquiry Law and compensation for victims’ families.
Meanwhile, Governor Ademola Adeleke, through his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, commended the IGP for launching an investigation, urging that the process be guided strictly by the rule of law.
But tension remains high in Akinlalu. The community’s spokesperson, Mr Olamide Babarinde, alleged that some aggrieved Amotekun operatives had issued fresh threats to residents for demanding justice.
