Osun: Police clash with NSCDC officer in estate, residents injured
By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo
A violent confrontation erupted between police officers and a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) officer in Elizabeth Estate, Osogbo, Osun State, on Wednesday, resulting in injuries to residents and the detention of the NSCDC officer.
The incident occurred after officers from the Ataoja Police Division were reportedly denied entry to the estate due to their lack of an arrest warrant.
Video footage of the event shows police officers physically assaulting the NSCDC officer, who had asked for a warrant to justify their actions.
Estate residents attempted to mediate, but tensions rose as police reinforcements arrived, escalating the situation and leading to clashes with residents. The video also depicts the NSCDC officer, in uniform and visibly handcuffed, as police forced him into detention.
One resident, injured in the confrontation, described seeing police vehicles block the estate’s main gate and harass the NSCDC officer, saying, “They started beating everyone in the estate before taking the officer away.”
In a statement, Osun State Police Command’s spokesperson, CSP Yemisi Opalola, confirmed the officer’s arrest, claiming that he had obstructed the police’s duties, injured two officers, and deflated their vehicle’s tires. Opalola stated that officers from Oyo State had arrived in Osogbo to arrest a suspect when the NSCDC officer intervened.
In response, NSCDC Osun State Commandant Dr. Michael Adaralewa called for a thorough investigation, condemning what he described as police misconduct.
NSCDC spokesperson ASC Kehinde Adeleke recounted the sequence of events, noting that the police had arrived in unmarked vehicles and, when asked for identification, allegedly resorted to intimidation.
According to Adeleke, tensions escalated the following day when approximately 20 police officers returned, assaulting and detaining the NSCDC officer.
Efforts by NSCDC leadership to secure the officer’s release were initially unsuccessful, though he was eventually freed on Friday after reported mistreatment while in police custody.