In Osun State, the Nigeria Police brutally attacked NSCDC soldiers stationed at a residential estate in Osogbo, escalating the conflict between NSCDC and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel.

According to information obtained, a group of police officers wearing police jackets and muftis broke into Elizabeth’s Osogbo estate on Tuesday night in a private car in order to apprehend a resident suspect.

But when the NSCDC officers assigned to the estate asked who the aforementioned police officers were, they became enraged and started criticising the staff.

Before the police officers departed the scene because they were not permitted entry to the estate, they verbally abused each other.

Results showed that on Wednesday, October 25, 2024, the squad returned to the estate with re-enforcement, called out the NSCDC staff, and then verbally insulted them before descending on him.

A group of police officers demobilised him and then attacked him before dragging him from the scene in handcuffs.

Kehinde Adeleke, the State’s NSCDC spokeswoman, called the police officers’ actions “barbaric and uncivilised” when confronted.

A group of people posing as police officers wearing “ANKARA” clothing with only jackets on top drove recklessly into the estate, which is guarded by NSCDC personnel, in a private sienna vehicle at approximately 8 p.m. on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, at Elizabeth Estate in Osogbo, Osun State, with the intention of allegedly arresting a suspect.

Since they were trained officers, the NSCDC staff on duty asked for identification, but the people posing as police did not supply it. They turned to intimidation instead. They departed the estate’s grounds after failing to provide identification.

On Wednesday, October 23, 2024, the situation became more intense when a gang of police officers, perhaps twenty (20) in number, drove into the estate and attacked an NSCDC employee, causing him to suffer severe physical assault and serious injuries.

“The officer was disarmed, handcuffed like a common criminal, his uniform was ripped, he was beaten beyond recognition, and he was taken violently to Ataoja Division before being transferred to the Police State Headquarters.”

She stated that Osun NSCDC commander Michael Adaralewa’s attempts to settle the matter peacefully and secure the personnel’s release were unsuccessful since the police persisted on holding him in their cell at the command headquarters till Friday.

In response, Yemisi Opalola, the Police Public Relations Officer, stated in a statement that the NSCDC staff had attacked two of the officers and prevented the police from carrying out their duties; as a result, they had requested re-enforcement and made sure he was arrested.

“The Osun State Police Command wishes to inform the public and correct the record that: Police officers arriving from Oyo State on investigation activities went to an estate in Osogbo to apprehend a suspected criminal, but were stopped by civil defence personnel stationed there. As a result, they beat up and injured two police officers and deflated their vehicle’s tires,” she said.

The police officers then requested reinforcements from the closest division in the area. One of the Civil Defence members who attacked the police officers and stopped them from carrying out their legal duties was detained and transferred to State CID for investigation when the reinforcement arrived and the policemen were saved.

An inquiry into the situation is still underway, she stated.