The agrarian community of Ifon in Ose Local Council Area of Ondo State was engulfed in crisis over the weekend following the alleged torture of a teenage boy to death by police operatives in the community.

With visible marks on his body, the deceased, who was the son of a popular man in the community known as ‘Bobby,’ died in police custody after he was arrested along with his friend on Valentine’s Day.

According to a youth and community advocate, Oluwaseun Ogunmola, some youths in the community who had an altercation with the deceased and his friend—who is currently in a coma—over a girl got them arrested after a Valentine’s party in the community.

He said, “Some young individuals got into a fight on Valentine’s Day. One party went to the police station to report the incident, which led to the arrest of two members of the opposing group.

“These two arrested individuals were brutally tortured; tragically, one died in his cell yesterday morning, while the other was rushed to the hospital and remains in a coma. The group that lost their friend and family member reacted angrily by going to the home of the individual who reported them to the police, where they set the house ablaze.”

With news of the deceased’s death—whose name was yet to be ascertained as of press time—filtering into town on Saturday, his family and friends mobilized to the police station and set it ablaze, after which the house of the person who got the deceased arrested was also set on fire.

Equally infuriated by the development, the family and friends of the other arrested individual, who is in a coma due to the torture, protested over the situation, with his elder brother, Bamise, allegedly shot dead in the process by the police on Sunday.

Meanwhile, a source disclosed that “some youth groups fought among themselves during a Valentine’s party over a girl. After settling the issue, two boys were arrested after one of the groups went to the police station to report them.

“It was on Saturday morning that we got the gist that one of the arrested boys, who is Bobby’s son, had died in a cell while he was being tortured. The other person is currently in a coma.

“After we heard of the boy’s death, we realized that there was already a problem in the community because his father is known by everyone. His friends later went to the house of the boy who reported them to the Ifon Divisional Police Station and burnt it down. They also went to the police station and set it ablaze.

“When the issue was still hot, the brother of the other boy, who is in a coma, was shot dead by the police when he was protesting with his friends on Sunday. Everywhere is now tense. It took the intervention of the military to calm the tension in the community.”

Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, CSP Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, stated that the Commissioner of Police, Wilfred Afolabi, had gone to the community to assess the situation.

The PPRO, however, assured that the police command would soon brief journalists on the situation. (The Guardian)