By Our Correspondent | National News
The Oyo State Police Command has said forensic evidence did not link two of its officers to the 2021 shooting of Nurudeen Azeez, a graduate of The Polytechnic, Ibadan.
The officers, Inspector Gbenga Ayodele and Sergeant Ayilaran Boluwaji, were attached to the Agodi Divisional Police Headquarters when the incident occurred.
The Command said the officers had responded to a robbery alert on August 16, 2021, when Azeez, who was travelling on a commercial motorcycle, was struck by a bullet.
In a statement issued on Saturday by the Command’s spokesperson, DSP Ayanlade Olayinka, the police said an investigation conducted shortly after the incident had exonerated the two officers.
The Command renewed its position following the recent resurfacing of the case in a viral video and newspaper reports.
According to the police, forensic investigators recovered a locally fabricated pistol during a sweep of the scene.
The Command said the duty and firearm records of the two officers were also obtained and examined during the investigation.
“The records confirmed that they had signed out two AK-47 rifles for their assignment that night,” the statement said.
It added that forensic examination showed that neither of the two police-issued rifles had been fired in connection with the incident.
The police further said pellets removed from Azeez’s body were not consistent with ammunition fired from an AK-47 rifle.
“Unlike the two police-issued rifles, the pistol showed characteristics consistent with recent discharge. However, this finding alone could not establish who fired the weapon,” the Command said.
The police maintained that the totality of the available evidence did not substantiate the allegation that either Ayodele or Boluwaji shot Azeez.
“While the victim sustained a genuine gunshot injury, the evidence available did not establish the identity of the person responsible for the shooting,” the statement added.
Victim recounts ordeal
Azeez, who was 30 at the time of the incident, recently spoke publicly about the shooting, saying he continues to suffer the consequences of the injury five years later.
He said he was travelling from Iwo Road to his hostel in the Ijokodo area of Ibadan on a commercial motorcycle when traffic around Idi-Ape forced the rider to take an alternative route.
According to him, he suddenly heard gunshots before a bullet struck his spinal cord, causing him to collapse on the motorcycle.
Azeez said he was unable to move when one of the police officers approached him and asked him to stand up.
He alleged that the officers later left the scene as passers-by rushed to assist him.
The graduate also said he was initially assured of support for his medical treatment, but alleged that the assistance gradually stopped.
The police, however, maintained that its investigation did not establish that either of the two officers fired the shot that injured him.
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