Osun Amotekun explains handover of four operatives to police

Amotekun Corps in Osun State has clarified that four of its operatives were voluntarily handed over to the police for investigation into the killing of Olalekan Oyeyemi, popularly known as Emir, in Ile-Ife.

The corps said the clarification followed reports suggesting that the operatives had been arrested by the Osun State Police Command over the incident.

According to Amotekun, in a statement on Monday by its Public Relations Officer, Yusuf Idowu Abass, “the four men were made available to the police as part of efforts to establish the circumstances surrounding the death and other attacks recorded during the incident.”

The operatives were said to be attached to Nurudeen Alowonle, a factional chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, in Osun State.

The development is connected to the death of Oyeyemi, an Accord chieftain, who was killed during a clash at Mayfair Motor Park in Ile-Ife on Sunday, September 13, 2026.

Following the killing, Governor Ademola Adeleke directed relevant authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident and identify those responsible.

Oyeyemi was reportedly being considered for appointment as chairman of the Park Management System, which the Osun State Government planned to establish to take over the management of public motor parks from the NURTW.

Explaining the decision to make the operatives available to the police, Idowu said the move was intended to support a transparent investigation.

Idowu stated that the Corps Commander, High Chief Dr Adekunle Isaac Omoyele, personally handed over the four operatives to the police.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the police did not arrest the Amotekun operatives in question,” the spokesperson said.

He explained that the commander took the step “in the interest of transparency, accountability and a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the attacks in Ile-Ife.”

According to him, “the operatives were handed over so that the appropriate security authority could question them and establish what happened during the violence.”

The corps urged the public and media practitioners to distinguish between an arrest and the voluntary handover of individuals for investigation.

“It is important that members of the public and media practitioners distinguish between being arrested and being voluntarily handed over for investigation,” Idowu said.

The Amotekun Corps also reaffirmed its commitment to professionalism, discipline, accountability and cooperation with other security agencies, stressing that it would not tolerate conduct capable of undermining public confidence in the state’s security system.