Some armed soldiers, on Monday, invaded
the Osun State Police Command headquarters in Osogbo and broke the gate
and caused panic in the area.
According to some traders near the
police headquarters, three of the soldiers had already entered the
premises before the others were stopped at the gate.
A trader,
who identified herself simply as Nkechi, claimed that many of those with
business in the area had to hurriedly close for the day for fear of
being caught in the crossfire
She told our correspondent that
about 25 armed soldiers were seen at the gate of the command headquaters
engaging the policemen manning the area in a hot argument around 1pm.
“Later, a senior police officer with the name tag, Edward Ebuka, intervened and the soldiers left the area,” Nkechi stated.
A
top security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told our
correspondent that three soldiers, who entered the premises, were
arrested and disarmed by the policemen, while the others left.
He
said the mission of the soldiers in the area might not be unconnected
with the arrest and detention of a soldier on Saturday for an offence
that could not be immediately ascertained.
The source stated,
“Those who came had planned to disarm our men at the gate. A soldier is
being held at the State Criminal Investigation Bureau since Saturday for
an offence I don’t know.
“I think those soldiers, who came to
the command headquarters, wanted to forcefully free him. Presently, four
soldiers are being held here.”
When contacted for a reaction,
the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Folasade Odoro,
neither confirmed nor denied the incident.
“Newsmen will be briefed later on what happened here today (Monday) very soon,” she simply stated.
