The Oyo State Police Command has reacted to stories making the rounds that three or more killings were recorded in the ancient city of Ibadan, the State capital yesterday, March 9, 2019, describing them as frivolous and unsubstantiated.
The CP, Shina Olukolu, in a press release posted on Police/Press Chat Zone 11 platform, said: "These stories, I can confirm in its entirety are false, planted by mischievous persons to deliberately cause disaffection and tension in the State".
The social media was today, Sunday, March 10, 2019, awash with such killings as that of a House of Representatives member in Oyo State, Temitope Olatoye a. k. a. Sugar; a Fuji musician, Taye Currency's mother and wife of a Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Lamidi Mukaila (Auxiliary).
But CP Olukolu frowned at the reports and urged inhabitants of the State to be wary of "such uncorroborated, frivolous, unethical online publications that appear to being contrived to cause panic, confusion and pandemonium within the entire citizenry, with a view of causing public disorder".
The statement titled "Update On Unsubstantiated Alleged Killing Spree In Oyo State", Olukolu stated that his attention was drawn by critical stakeholders and the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in-charge of Zone 11, Osogbo, Leye Oyebade, to the spate of unsubstantiated stories of alleged killings published in the social media, and said it was shocking and alarming.
He appealed to media practitioners to always endeavour to cross check their stories or reports before publishing, adding that, "As the Nigeria project and Oyo State is our collective heritage that must not be destroyed on the altar of personal gain or interest".
The CP appealed to people of the State to go about their lawful duties and businesses without any fear or intimidation, stating that the relative calm and tranquility being enjoyed in the State must not, under whatever guise, be destroyed.
He said: "The business of security is a collective responsibility which the people, as stakeholders, must continue to partner and synergize with the Police "to enable us serve the community better".
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