Ikire Killing: Osun police arrest four suspects, recover rifle

The Osun State Police Command has arrested four suspects in connection with the killing of two passers-by during an attack on police officers at Ikire, Irewole Local Government Area of Osun State.

The police also retrieved a cutlass-like object, some spent cartridges and recovered a snatched AK-47 police rifle.

The Commissioner of Police, Osun State Command, CP Ibrahim Umar Zungura, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing journalists on the progress of the investigation into the incident, which occurred on Monday, 24 August 2026.

According to Zungura, “the incident occurred at the Naira & Kobo area of Ikire after the Divisional Police Officer and his men responded swiftly to a distress call.”

He said a group of about 30 armed hoodlums attacked the police officers and forcefully snatched an AK-47 rifle from one of the policemen.

“One of the hoodlums, popularly known as Ayewo, started shooting sporadically with the snatched AK-47 rifle,” the commissioner said.

Zungura explained that the gunfire hit three policemen and two passers-by, resulting in the deaths of the two civilians, while the injured officers were taken to hospital for medical treatment.

He said the attackers subsequently fled the scene with the police rifle, prompting the command to commence an investigation involving intelligence gathering and technical analysis.

The commissioner disclosed that operatives of the command arrested four suspects on Wednesday, 26 August, following credible intelligence and painstaking analysis of information connected with the attack.

The suspects were identified as Sikiru Ademola Adedeji, 21; Olalere Taiwo, 21; Olalere Ademola, 26; and Bankole Abiodun, 20.

“One cutlass-like object was recovered from the suspects. Preliminary interrogation indicated that the suspects confessed to being political thugs,” he stated.

According to him, “the suspects identified Ayewo, whose other name remains unknown, as the head of their faction and alleged that he was the person who fired the snatched AK-47 rifle during the incident.”

The commissioner, who said the investigation was ongoing to arrest Ayewo and other suspects still at large, assured the public that anyone found to have participated in or contributed to the offence would face the full weight of the law.

He also urged residents to provide credible and timely information to assist the police in preventing crime and apprehending suspects.