One person was allegedly killed and four others, including Amotekun Corps operatives, were injured following an attack by some traders in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State.
The violence started when the Amotekun Corps sought to carry out a government order to relocate traders from the Atikankan neighborhood, which was said to have turned into a criminal haven, to the marketplaces along Agric Olope Market in the capital city.
According to a source, the leadership of Ado Local Government Area was reported to have hired the services of Amotekun Corps to effect the movement of traders along the route at Oja’ba, Oja Bisi, and Atikankan Market.
“Some traders at Atikankan resisted the attack, ambushed Amotekun Corps operatives and unleashed mayhem on the security agents with dangerous weapons.
“Weapons such as guns, cutlasses and daggers were used by the traders and in the process injured the operatives and vandalized about three Amotekun patrol vans.
“These people in Atikankan area have been constituting serious nuisance and security threat to the state in the last few years with the kind of criminal activities happening on daily basis.
“This is a place where you go and see people hawking cannabis in broad daylight, used as criminal hideouts and selling and buying of stolen items, among other illicit activities. Government asked them to relocate to another place provided for them, but they were adamant and insisting they won’t leave the place.
“They said nobody can make them vacate the place, you can see the problem in our hands. The Amotekun people were there today (Thursday) to effect the directives of government on the relocation when they were attacked with dangerous weapons.
“They injured the operatives and destroyed their patrol vehicles. I heard one person died in the fracas but I can’t confirm that at the moment,” the source said.
However, confirming the incident was the Police Public Relations Officer for Ekiti State Command, Sunday Abutu, who noted that four suspects had been arrested so far in connection with the incident.
According to Abutu, normalcy had been restored to the area.
He explained that the Commissioner of Police, Dare Ogundare, had ordered a discreet investigation into the incident to ensure that the perpetrators were brought to book.
He said, “The command received a distress call that there was a clash between Amotekun operatives and a group of irate youths in Atikankan area of Ado Ekiti. The command immediately deployed operatives to the scene to maintain peace and forestall further damage.
“Upon reaching the scene, it was discovered that two persons were seriously injured and rushed to the hospital,” he added.