By Stephen Godonu
Afolabi Kazeem, a member of the Western Nigeria Security Network, Amotekun, has been dismissed for killing of Tosin Thomas, a 23-year-old resident of the state.
Kazeem was said to have fired a shot to disperse a crowd at Total filling station in Mokola axis of Ibadan, Oyo state capital, on Wednesday.
However, the shot hit Thomas who was confirmed dead after he was taken to hospital.
Commenting on the incident, Olayinka Olayanju, commandant of Amotekun in the state, said Kazeem was found guilty of acting outside the corps protocol.
He said the operative has been dismissed from the corps and handed over to the police for prosecution.
Olayanju also said George Idowu, the team leader who led the corps members to the scene of the incident, is being investigated and will be sanctioned accordingly.
“As it turned out, one of his team members, by the name Afolabi Kazeem, who felt sufficiently threatened by the crowd, which included some hoodlums armed with cutlasses and other dangerous weapons, opened fire to supposedly scare away the crowd. Unfortunately, his shot hit one Mr Tosin Thomas, 23, who was subsequently confirmed dead,” he said.
“The Corps has found that Afolabi Kazeem with Ammunition Number AM031849 acted outside the Amotekun Corps’ protocols.
“For this reason, he has been summarily dismissed from the Corps and handed over to the police for prosecution. Also, his Team, leader, George Idowu, is being thoroughly investigated and will face all necessary sanctions.”