The Oyo State Police Command has rejected allegations that two of its officers shot Nurudeen Azeez, a graduate of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, during an armed robbery incident in Ibadan in 2021.
The command said forensic examination of the firearms carried by Inspector Gbenga Ayodele and Sergeant Ayilaran Boluwaji established that neither officer fired the rifles in connection with the incident.
The two officers, who were attached to the Agodi Divisional Police Headquarters, were responding to an armed robbery alert on the night of August 16, 2021.
The command’s position was contained in a statement issued on Saturday by its spokesperson, DSP Ayanlade Olayinka, following the renewed public interest in the case after Azeez’s account resurfaced in a viral video and newspaper publication.
According to the police, the incident occurred at about 9pm while Ayodele and Boluwaji were on night-duty pin-down around Koltol Hotel, Ikolaba, Ibadan.
The officers were reportedly approached by a motorist who informed them that armed robbers were pursuing him.
Shortly afterwards, gunshots were heard from the direction of Bino Hotel, prompting the officers to move towards the area.
The command said additional police personnel were subsequently deployed to the scene.
During a forensic sweep of the area, investigators recovered a locally fabricated pistol, while eyewitnesses reported that a motorcycle passenger had been shot and taken to Molly Specialist Hospital, Idi-Ape, by members of the public.
Azeez was later moved to Kehinde Ege Traditional Hospital, Asanke, Idi-Aro, Ibadan, where pellets were extracted from his body.
The police said investigators were initially unable to obtain a statement from Azeez because he was receiving intensive medical care.
His elder brother, Nurudeen Musa, reportedly told investigators that he witnessed the extraction of the projectiles.
According to the police, 15 pellets were removed from Azeez’s body, although 13 were documented and six were registered as exhibits.
As part of the investigation, the duty and firearm records of Ayodele and Boluwaji were obtained.
The records showed that the two officers had signed out two AK-47 rifles for their assignment that night.
Both weapons were subsequently subjected to forensic examination.
The command said the examination established that neither of the AK-47 rifles had been fired during the incident.
It added that the pellets extracted from Azeez’s body were not consistent with ammunition fired from an AK-47 rifle.
The locally fabricated pistol recovered at the scene was also examined and produced a different finding.
According to the police, the pistol displayed characteristics consistent with having been recently discharged.
However, investigators said the forensic evidence could not establish who had fired the weapon.
“Based on the totality of the evidence, the investigation concluded that the allegation that either of the two police officers shot Nurudeen Azeez was not substantiated,” the command said.
It added that while Azeez had sustained a genuine gunshot injury, the available evidence did not establish the identity of the person responsible for the shooting.
The case recently returned to the spotlight after PUNCH published an interview in which Azeez recounted the circumstances surrounding the incident and appealed for assistance to regain the use of his legs.
Azeez had maintained that he was shot by a police officer during the incident, alleging that the officer subsequently ordered him to stand up before leaving the scene.
However, the Oyo Police Command said the investigation conducted in 2021 did not establish any link between the two officers and the shooting.
