By KAYODE OYERO
The Oodua Peoples Congress, on Sunday, narrated how its men arrested notorious Fulani warlord Iskilu Wakili who terrorised Ayete and neighbouring villages in Ibarapaland, Oyo State.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH on Sunday, Adedeji Oluwole, the OPC sector coordinator, who led his operatives and other vigilante groups to arrest Wakili, said the suspect was nabbed on Sunday morning.
The OPC leader said it took over four days of continued operations and surveillance to nab Wakili and three other men.
According to Oluwole, more than 10 OPC operatives went on the mission. He said Wakili’s men shot fiercely at the OPC operatives before they were eventually nabbed.
He, however, expressed shock that the police detained three of his men after they handed over Wakili.
Oluwole said, “We’ve been trying to get him (Wakili) arrested since four days ago but because the man is a very ruthless person, each time anybody tried to near his field (known as Iga Wakili), he will send his men to shoot the person.
“But we thank God this morning, we entered his field and on getting there, they started firing bullets at us. Immediately they sighted us, they started firing but we thank God we were able to successfully arrest him without harming anybody.
“Wakili himself was inside his house this morning when we got there. So, we just picked him because he is an old man. Three persons were arrested with him. We didn’t see any women there. They knew what they were doing, they already took their wives and children out of the village.
“There were more men with Wakili but as they sighted us, they started firing and fled at the same time. We recovered some of their live cartridges.”
Oluwole, the Federal Capital Territory OPC coordinator, who is also an indigene of Igboora, said he relocated four months ago to Ayete to bring Wakili to book after state security agencies failed to arrest him.
He added, “I am the state coordinator of OPC in Abuja but I am an indigene of Igboora. I was born in Igboora and grew up in Igboora. I am part and parcel of Ibarapa. When the problem started, I had to come down to the village to see how we can tackle the problem because this Wakili has raped some of my sisters and killed some of my parents. Some natives of the village have fled to Abeokuta and Lagos because of Wakili.
“I relocated to Igboora about four months ago when the police and the Federal Government didn’t do anything about the security of our people.”
The OPC leader said Wakili and his men were not hurt in the operation and so wondered why the police detained three of his men.
“Nobody touched Wakili, nobody hurt him, there are no traces of any hurt on him. He is an old man and we had promised the whole world that we won’t hurt them but we would arrest them for the whole world to see who is Wakili because all these while, he has been a faceless person, nobody knows him. We didn’t beat him or harm him. When we nabbed him, we put him inside a vehicle and handed him over to the DPO in Igboora whose name is Ajayi Mark.
“The DPO then said he got a signal from the CP (Commissioner of Police) in Iyaganku. They have taken three of my men to Iyaganku now.”
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in Oyo State, Olugbenga Fadeyi, did not respond to calls put to his line. A text message sent to his phone was also not replied to as of the time of filing this report.
Photo: •Iskilu Wakili
(The PUNCH)
