Osun Peace Corps Accuses Police, Other Paramilitaries of Implicating Officers

The Commandant of Peace Corps of Nigeria, Osun state Command, Mr Ayinde Paul, has attributed the recent travail of the group that led to the arrest and prosecution of two of his men to the rivalry and enmity between the group and other sister paramilitary organisations and security agencies in the state.

Two members of the peace corpse, Olanike Akinwande and Olawale Akande were arrested and remanded in prison custody by an Osogbo magistrate court for complicity in the fight between students of the Government Technical College and Osogbo High School, Osogbo last week.

Addressing newsmen at the Osun State Peace Corp Command in Osogbo at the weekend, Paul described the arrest of the officers as unfortunate and a cheap means by which the rivalry paramilitary organisations wanted to use to bring them down.

He alleges that some officers of the Nigerian Police and some students from the schools involved in the recent crisis conspired against his men during the unrest, thereby shifting the blame and the root cause of the crises on the peace corpse.

Paul described the allegations of extortion leveled against the two arrested peace corps officers as a blatant lie, stating that Peace Corps members were not involved in the crisis at all, but they were just on ground to calm the situation.

The commandant said:  “none of my men were posted to Government Technical College, and they did not have any issue with the students of the college.

“What really happen was that, there is a fence erected to demarcate the two schools from each other and the students of the Technical College went ahead to perforate the fence so as to be able to have access into Osogbo High school. They have been warned to desist from such act but the student turned deaf ears.

“A student, Abiodun Olorunfemi wanted to jump through the fence when officers of Vigilantes Group of Nigeria cautioned him; they engaged in hot altercation which later degenerated to serious fight.

“The student thereafter mobilised other students to confront members of the vigilantes group, whose office is situated within the premises of Government Technical College. In fact, no fewer than three members of the vigilantes were seriously wounded before my men came to rescue them”. Paul explained.

“I can confirm to you that the wounded officers of vigilante group are still in the hospital where there are receiving treatments.”

Paul wondered why the story would be turned against them, blaming the policemen for deliberately implicating the peace corps officers.

Wondering why his men would be treated in such a ridiculous way despite their effort at maintaining peace and harmony in all the public schools, Paul said “we are not contesting or in rivalry with any paramilitary in the state”.

Reacting to a statement credited to the Chairman, Osun Education Quality Assurance and Morality Enforcement Agency, Dr Isiaka Owoade that the Peace Corps and Vigilant group are only in the public school through the commitment of the PTA,  Paul said their services were employed by the state government.

He said he was so stunned by the statement made by Dr Owoade, adding that the state government hired them and requested their service of maintaining peace and instilling discipline in the students through a letter officially issued and duly signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti.

Quoting from the letter which was dated February 26, 2016, Peace Corps Commandant, it was stated clearly in the letter that “Peace Corps of Nigeria, State of Osun Command is known and recognized by state government of Osun for the maintenance of discipline, curb students loitering and any other act of indiscipline in whatever guise in the state of Public Schools”.

Paul who bemoaned information from some quarters that his men had not lived up to expectation, said the  success the peace corps have achieved within a space of two to three years cannot be underestimated.

He said a lot of students who use to partake in social vices were apprehended by his men, counseled and remodeled into good citizens acceptable by government’s taste.

“We used to hand over any arrested students to the police but when we later discover the way and manner the police is handling their case, we stopped handing them over to them and decided to take them straight to the Parent Teachers Association (PTA).

“The PTA would in turn invite their parents and educate them on the need to warn their children.

“There is a relationship between the officers of Peace Corp of Nigeria and students, we do counsel them, educate them and even advice them of the danger attach to cultism and some other vices. In fact, their teachers can testify to it”

“We are saddle with the responsibility of maintaining peace and order in schools not to extort them” he concluded.

It would be recalled that students of Osogbo High school and Technical College had on Wednesday engaged themselves in a free for all fight which almost degenerated to a full-blown crisis in Osogbo.

A student of the Technical College Osogbo, had  accused  officers of  the Peace Corp of Nigeria of detaining him and dispossessing him of the sum of N600 for coming late to school.

The student was however reported to have  mobilized other students to fight the members of vigilantes  officers which later degenerated into a free for all fight which led to  the arrest  of a student and subsequent arrest of two officers of the Nigeria Peace Corps by the Police.

The arrested persons were thereafter, charged to court by the police, where the Magistrate ordered that they all be kept behind bars until formal bail application is made by their legal representatives.