Ikire Killing: Families Reject Police Account, Demand Independent Probe Into Deaths

Families of victims of the violence that erupted at the Naira and Kobo Garage in Ikire, Irewole Local Government Area of Osun State, have rejected the police account of the incident, insisting that an independent investigation is needed to establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

The families, who spoke at a press conference on Friday, alleged that the victims were allegedly killed by police officers during the incident on Monday, August 24, 2026, and accused the police of attempting to shift blame to the deceased.

The development came days after the Osun State Police Command gave its account of the incident, saying its personnel responding to a distress call were attacked by hoodlums, resulting in the death of two civilians and injuries to three police officers.

However, the families disputed the account, describing the Naira and Kobo Garage as peaceful before the incident and questioning the circumstances that led to the police intervention.

One of the key witnesses, Azeez Isiaka Idowu, who was driving the vehicle in which one of the victims was shot, gave a detailed account of what he said he witnessed.

Idowu said he was travelling from Ibadan to Bayelsa in a Toyota Sequoia with a man and his wife when the incident occurred.

According to him, the three occupants were travelling peacefully when he slowed down at a speed breaker under the Ikire bridge.

He said: “I was coming from Ibadan, going to Bayelsa. I was driving a Sequoia Jeep. We were only three in the vehicle — myself, the husband in the front and his wife at the back seat.

“I slowed down at the speed breaker under the Ikire bridge. I suddenly sighted a white Hilux with ‘Police’ written on its door coming from Ikire town to the junction.

“They started shooting from the Hilux and by the time I looked up, I saw that the man sitting in front of the car had been hit by a bullet, and he died immediately.

“I did not witness any fight or anything happening before the Hilux came to that junction. The gunshot came from the policemen inside the white Hilux. The bullet came inside through the front glass of the vehicle.”

Idowu’s account was also corroborated by a relative of the deceased, Fatai Sonde, who identified the slain man as Nureni Sobawale.

Sonde said Sobawale had travelled to Ibadan on Thursday for his mother-in-law’s burial ceremony before the family received news of his death.

He said: “Around 10am, his wife called and told me that they had shot her husband.

“The slain man is survived by five children and his wife. His wife told me that Sobawale was shot by the police. Even when we reached Ikire, all we heard was that the police had shot him.

“We are sad to hear another narrative that Nureni Sobawale was a criminal and had been on the police wanted list.”

Sonde described the deceased as the breadwinner of his family, adding that he was an injector mechanic and car dealer who supported not only his immediate family but also relatives in his community.

“He was the family breadwinner. The whole family depends on him, even the village where his parents are living. We want justice,” he said.

In their statement at the press conference, the families alleged that the police investigation was one-sided and did not adequately consider accounts from eyewitnesses and other persons directly affected by the incident.

They questioned why the police division intervened at the garage when, according to them, the area was peaceful before the incident.

The families also raised questions about the circumstances surrounding the reported disarming of police personnel and the subsequent deaths.

They further accused the police of attempting to link Senator Lere Oyewumi to the incident.

The families described the allegation against the senator as unfounded, saying he intervened as a community leader to prevent the crisis from escalating into wider communal violence.

Oyewumi, who also spoke on the matter, denied any involvement in the violence.

He said his intervention was aimed at calming the situation and preventing residents from resorting to self-help.

The senator said he assisted security authorities, including the Commissioner of Police, in navigating some of the troubled areas when tensions were high.

He described attempts to link him with the violence as unfortunate, alleging that such claims were aimed at diverting attention from what he described as the alleged misconduct of some police officers.

The families subsequently called on the Osun State Government and other relevant authorities to establish an independent commission of inquiry into the incident.

They urged the authorities to ensure that witnesses, victims’ families, security personnel and other parties involved are given the opportunity to present their accounts before any final conclusions are reached.

They also demanded justice for those killed and wounded, insisting that the circumstances surrounding the deaths must be transparently investigated.

The police had earlier announced the arrest of suspects in connection with the Ikire violence and maintained that its personnel were responding to an attack.

The families’ latest claims represent a competing account of the incident and have not been independently verified. An independent investigation would therefore be required to establish the sequence of events, identify those responsible for the deaths and determine whether any security personnel or civilians committed wrongdoing.