OPC Breaks Silence On Burning Of Iskilu Wakili’s House

The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) has dismissed the claim by the Oyo State Police Command that its men burnt down the house of notorious Fulani warlord Iskilu Wakili after he was arrested on Sunday.

Naija News reports that a joint team of security operatives arrested the notorious Fulani warlord terrorizing Oyo communities around 7 am on Sunday after a gun battle.

The Fulani warlord was arrested at his residence in the Ayete area of Ibarapa and had been handed over to the Divisional Police Office in Igbo Ora.

Meanwhile, the Oyo State Police Command had said it detained three OPC operatives for allegedly burning down Wakili’s house and killing an unknown woman in the process.

But in an interview with The PUNCH on Monday, the OPC sector coordinator in Oyo State, Adedeji Oluwole, said the claim that the warlord’s house was set ablaze was false.

Oluwole also noted that no casualty was recorded during the operation to arrest Wakili, saying that his men left the scene after the warlord was arrested.

He said: “We don’t know anything about that. After we arrested Wakili, we left the scene. We had no idea whether the house was burnt or a woman was killed. It was last night that we read the news that a woman was killed at the scene of the incident.

“We arrested Wakili and three of his men. Nobody touched them. We were not there to kill anybody or to burn the house.”

He described the arrest of his men as unfortunate after arresting the notorious Fulani warlord while questioning the admission of the suspected criminal to the hospital.

Oluwole also expressed dismay that the police were witch-hunting the OPC men for executing what the police failed to do.

He called on Yoruba leaders to come to the rescue of his men and asked them to prevail on the police to stop harassing his men.

Oluwole said, “My boys are still in police custody but we call on Yoruba leaders to come to our rescue because these boys are innocent; they know nothing about these allegations. Up till now, they have not taken them to court and they are still in their custody. Even I myself, the police have been chasing me and I’m shocked because I have not committed any offence.

“We feel bad that the police treat our men like this while they pamper Wakili. We don’t have any regret whatsoever. We hand over everything to God. If the government cannot protect the people of Ibarapa and environ, I think there is nothing wrong if we protect ourselves.

“The case of Wakili has been on ground for several years and the Federal Government did nothing about it. But now that Wakili has been arrested, they started threatening us but we are not moved. We believe the people of Ibarapa will overcome this by the grace of God.”