Ondo Poly students protest killing of colleague by Amotekun operative, dump coffin at Gov’s Office

By Temitope Adedeji, Akure 

Aggrieved students of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State, on Friday, protested the killing of Folarera Ademola, an ND1 student of the institution from the Department of Science Laboratory Technology, allegedly by an operative of the Amotekun Corps.

The aggrieved students blocked all the link roads around the state secretariat, Alagbaka, in Akure, the state capital, disrupting both human and vehicular movements.

The protesters, who defied the morning rain, marched to the Governor’s Office and dropped the corpse of Ademola, even as they called on Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to fish out the killer Amotekun Corps member.

The students also gave the state government 24-hour ultimatum to hand over the said officer to the police for proper prosecution, take charge of the deceased’s burial, and compensate the family.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, the Students’ Union President, Olorunda Oluwafemi, noted that the the deceased was shot on June 26 by an officer of the Amotekun Corps in front of his parents’ house in Owo. 

Oluwafemi added that the deceased suffered the gunshot wounds for 10 days before he was taken to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owo, where he gave up the ghost on Thursday afternoon.

He said the protesting students marched from the school gate through the Palace of Olowo of Owo before taking the protest to the Governor’s Office and Amotekun’s office to further express their grievances. 

Meanwhile, the Amotekun Corps said it is investigating the killing of the student during an operation.

The Corps, in a statement described the death of the student as unfortunate.

Stating what led to the shooting , the Corps said that its men were investigating the case of a syndicate that specializes in attacking Okada riders with dangerous weapons and dispossessing them of their motorcycles in the process.

“Luck however ran out on one of the syndicates who was given a hot chase into a building in Owo by men of the Amotekun Corps where other members of the gang were met. Fifteen men were in the building and seven out of the men were stark naked inside the room filled with smoke. Four Okadas were also found inside the building,” the Corps said.

The statement said further that struggle ensured when attempts were made to arrest the men and in the process a gun went off, hitting one of the suspects and an Amotekun officer.

“At that instance, none of them told Amotekun officers that they were students,” the statement added.

The statement said Amotekun Corps eventually overpowered the suspects, arrested and took them to the Corps Office in Owo where they were detained while investigation was launched. 

The statement said the deceased was later released on health ground and was expected to come back for the investigation to continue.