ILEOGBO, the headquarters of Ayedire Local Government, State of Osun, is under the siege of some notorious hoodlums who have been terrorising the community for the past four years, investigations have revealed.

OSUN DEFENDER gathered that the hoodlums have subjected residents of the community to perpetual fear, following unabated attacks on innocent people and constant disruption of peace of the town.

Findings revealed that the thugs, led by one Nureni Ajagbe, are always armed with Pump Action, dane guns, cutlasses, axes and charms.

The hoodlums, it was gathered, killed an Hausa man known as Kabiru Musa, on April 19, 2022.

Kabiru was reportedly shot by one Isaac Dada, one of the thugs where he was harvesting maggot at Aderu, Station Road area, Ileogbo, around 9am.

According to sources, the deceased was shot for refusing to give the hoodlums money when he was asked.

A human right activist in Ileogbo, Mr Abiodun Funminiyi, confirmed to OSUN DEFENDER that the thugs have illegally constituted themselves into ‘authority’ with the aid of some community leaders.

Funminiyi accused some influential people in the community of conspiracy in the criminal activities of the hoodlums.

The Coordinator Advocate For Justice said: “We called on the state Government and the Inspector General of Police to come to our aid in Ileogbo. These thugs have been terrorizing us with impunity for the past four years.

“The thugs are being sponsored by some prominent members of the community. These people have compromised the Divisional Police headquarters in Ileogbo, and the police at the Area Command in Iwo are always under pressure to release these thugs whenever they are arrested.

“On April 14, 2022, the leader of the thugs, Nureni Ajagbe, shot a young man, Adetunji Akande twice. He met Akande and one other person fighting and instead of separating them, he went straight for Akande and attempted to slap him. Akande guided himself so that he would not be slapped.

“Nureni was furious that Akande could summon courage to guide himself. He then went for his pump action gun and shot Akande in the hand. Akande thereafter began to run for his life, but he was shot again in the leg by Nureni.

“Akande’s relatives went to report the case at police station in Ileogbo. Instead of arresting Nureni, the suspect, the police arrested Akande, the victim. They claimed that Nureni had come to report that Akande was selling Cannabis Sativa and that was why he shot him. It took the intervention of some of us before Akande was released.

“We reported the case at Area Command in Iwo and the police arrested Nureni. He was detained and released the following day after the people who are using him called the police. The police said they will arraign him in court but nothing has been done till now. He is walking freely in Ileogbo.”

Speaking on the death of Kabiru Musa, the human rights activist said: “Kabiru was killed by Dada, one of the hit man of Nureni gang. Dada shot Kabiru because he did not give them money.

“What happened is that on April 19, 2022, Kabiru was harvesting maggot at Aderu, Station road, Ileogbo and these same thugs asked for ‘settlement’. Kabiru said his master would pay them, pleading with them to be patient. But Dada did not listen, he brought out a gun and shot Kabiru. The guy died instantly.

“If care is not taken, these thugs will graduate to full fledge armed robbery gang and nobody will be safe again. The police should act fast on this.”

Corroborating Funminiyi’s claim, a legal practitioner, Mr Taiwo Alagbe, said some influential people are ‘using’ the thugs to oppress the less privileged and perpetuate evils in Ileogbo.

According to Alagbe, the thugs are being used to grab land, attack opposing voices and instill fear in the people by some influential personalities in the community.

He said he had handled series of cases involving some of the hoodlums, saying their sponsors have compromised the police in Ayedire Local Government and a section of the judiciary in the state.

Alagbe called on the Commissioner of Police and the State Government to nip in the bud the criminal activities of the hoodlums and restore sanity into the town.