By Ade Oyeyemi
The Osun State Police Command has arrested five suspects over the killing of a 14-year-old boy, Olapade Ezekiel, during a shooting incident in Ilobu, Osun State.
The command said investigations were ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and determine the individual roles of those allegedly involved in the crime.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, explaining that the incident occurred on June 21, 2026, at a palm-wine shop along Council Road, beside the headquarters of Irepodun Local Government Area in Ilobu.
According to the statement, the teenager was at the shop with his parent and some customers at about 3.30pm when a group of people allegedly arrived in a Sienna bus and began shooting sporadically.
Ezekiel sustained a gunshot injury and later died, while another person, identified as Matthew John, popularly known as Mofoto, was also injured in the shooting.
The police said the deceased’s father, Olugbenga Olapade, reported the incident at the Ilobu Police Division at about 5pm on the same day.
Following the report, operatives launched an investigation and tracked the suspects, who allegedly moved between different locations to evade arrest.
The police identified the arrested suspects as Saheed Kareem, 32, also known as Tanfiani; Ismail Yekeen, 24, aka Asumo Ayan; Abass Afeez, 32, aka SS Abass; Salako Taofeek, 30, aka Fenuso; and Barrister Abdulrauf Ogunshola.
The command said the suspects confessed to participating in the crime during questioning, adding that further investigations pointed to Taofeek as the person who allegedly fired the fatal shot.
“Investigation further reveals that Salako Taofeek, a.k.a. Fenuso, was identified by other suspects as the person that actually fired the shot that eventually killed the deceased,” the statement said.
The police further alleged that Taofeek identified a man known as Alaagba as the person responsible for keeping the firearm allegedly used in the operation.
Alaagba, according to the command, remains at large, while efforts are ongoing to apprehend him for possible prosecution.
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The command assured the public that the investigation would be conducted professionally and impartially, stressing that the allegations against the suspects would be assessed through credible evidence and other investigative procedures.
It added that forensic findings and other relevant evidence would guide efforts to establish the circumstances of the shooting and the roles of the individuals involved.
