Osun victims seek justice over alleged attempted murder as police handling sparks controversy

For a woman and two farm workers in Oke-Oba, Iwo, Osun State, the search for justice after an alleged violent attack on their farmland has taken an unexpected turn, with the Police now accused of reversing the roles of the alleged attackers and their victims.   The incident occurred on August 26, 2026, when three men allegedly confronted the woman and the two labourers while they were harvesting palm fruits on a farm near the Osun-Oyo boundary.   According to the Osun Amotekun Corps, the men allegedly attacked the woman and attempted to force her off the farmland.    Two suspects, identified as 55-year-old Fatai Balogun and 52-year-old Rafiu Adesola Balogun, were arrested after residents raised an alarm.

The Corps said its operatives recovered a barrel gun and a cutlass from the suspects and took them to its headquarters in Osogbo. It subsequently transferred the case to the Zone XI Police Command for further investigation.

The incident has been described by the Corps and human rights advocates as an alleged attempted murder because of the reported use of weapons and the seriousness of the attack. The Corps said its intervention may have prevented the incident from becoming fatal.

However, Nurudeen Ibraheem, Executive Director of Hope For The Common Man Foundation, alleged that the suspects were released after the Police took over the case.

He said the suspects were brought to Zone XI on August 29 and released the same day, without the alleged victims being informed.

According to Ibraheem, repeated efforts by the victims to have the suspects produced for investigation yielded no result until Monday, when they met the newly deployed Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone XI, Bassey S. Ewah.

He said the AIG directed officers to produce the suspects, but they were not brought before the victims left the command.

Ibraheem further alleged that an officer subsequently told the AIG that the alleged attackers were the complainants, while the victims were being treated as respondents.

The Zone XI Police Public Relations Officer, Tunji Ojedele, had earlier confirmed that the case was being investigated.

The AIG has directed the parties to return on Friday with a fresh order for the suspects to be produced.