Iskilu Wakili: OPC cries foul, as members are charged with murder, arson

 Aare Ona Kakanfo Iba Gani Adams

Iskilu Wakili: OPC cries foul, as members are charged with murder, arson

AN Iyaganku Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Ibadan, Thursday, charged three members of the Oodua People’s Congress, OPC, with three counts of conspiracy, murder and arson and ordered them to be remanded in a correctional centre, following Iskilu Wakili’s arrest.

The OPC members, Awodele Adedigba, Dauda Kazeem and Hassan Ramon, had arrested Wakili and some of his fighters at the Ibarapa area of Oyo State.

The state police command had subsequently arrested and detained them.

The prosecuting counsel, Opeyemi Olagunju, told the court that the suspects caused the death of a 45-year-old woman on March 7 at Kajola village, Ayete.

He said they also razed the house of an alleged notorious kidnap kingpin, Iskilu Wakili, causing damage of N5 million.

The Chief Magistrate, Olaide Hamzat, ordered that they be remanded in Abolongo Correctional Facility in Oyo town.

Hamzat ordered the police to return the case file to the office of the Oyo State Directorate of Public Prosecution, DPP.

He adjourned the matter till April 21 for mention.

Police has twisted the narratives— OPC

However, OPC, which condemned the murder and arson charges raised against three of its members, accused the Police of changing the narratives.

Publicity Secretary of the OPC, Mr. Yinka Oguntimehin, said it was shocking for the police to accuse the three members of murder and arson, saying the group will seek justice against the unjust arrest, arraignment and charges of arson and murder for the trio.

Oguntimehin said: “It is most unfortunate that the police twisted the narratives and accused our members of arson and murder.

“The police decision against our members was nothing but a misplaced one and it was discouraging.

“People tend to be discouraged most times when things like these happened, because there is no way organisations like ours that have the capacity to assist the police in ensuring effective security of people will continue without giving it a thought.

“But we would not be discouraged in our effort. We will always play our roles in ensuring that our region is safe against criminal elements,” he stated.

The OPC, alongside the joint team of Ibarapa security had, on Sunday March 7, arrested Wakili and three others after several attempts that culminated in a gun battle.