SP Alimeke Ignatius, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Obantoko Division in the Adatan Area Command of Abeokuta, Ogun State, and his colleagues were viciously attacked by some errant teenagers from two secondary schools in the state capital.
The police officers were allegedly attacked during a confrontation between Egba Comprehensive High School pupils and Asero High School in the Asero neighbourhood.
It was reported that students from the two schools had engaged in a brutal fight before Obantoko police officers were sent to put an end to the issue.
The students, who hurled stones and other projectiles at themselves, were also said to have stopped the main route, increasing tension among the locals.
The students allegedly harmed Alimeke and some of his guys when they raced to the scene of the incident to enforce law and order.
DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, the command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), verified the event to our correspondent.
According to Oyeyemi, pupils from Egba Comprehensive High School and Asero High School got into a brawl, and the Obantoko station police were dispatched to handle the issue.
“The DPO was hit by stones. The students were throwing stones and other objects at themselves during the fight,” Oyeyemi said.
When asked if any arrest was made, Oyeyemi replied, “We cannot arrest the students because they are minors. We can only detain and counsel them, after which they will be released.”
Meanwhile, the PCRC’s state organization has condemned the incident, calling it “uncivilized and unwarranted.”
In a statement signed by his media aide, Babatunde Odeyemi, the state Chairman of PCRC, Samson Kunle Popoola, decried public disruption by secondary school students in the state, stating that “if this is not quickly checked, it may portray a great danger for the future of this country.”
Concerns have been raised that cultism is becoming the norm among youths in numerous institutions around the state.
The state administration, on the other hand, claimed to be on top of the matter, encouraging instructors to refrain from using corporal punishment while disciplining their children.