The Ondo State Police Command has arrested 14 individuals following a violent mob attack on the Ala Divisional Police Headquarters in Akure North Council Area of the state.

Chaos erupted after an angry crowd attempted to storm the station to seize two suspects linked to the murder of a farmer, resulting in gunshot injuries to two police officers.

The unrest followed the death of Rasheed Hassan, a farmer whose killing was reported to the police a few days ago from General Camp in the Government Reserve Area.

While disclosing the development, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Abayomi Jimoh, stated that “upon receiving the report, police operatives visited the scene and recovered the victim’s body.”

“Preliminary observations by detectives revealed deep cuts to the victim’s head and other parts of his body, while his personal belongings were reported missing. Investigations were immediately launched to identify and apprehend those responsible for the gruesome killing.”

According to Abayomi, the situation escalated when the Ala Youth President purportedly apprehended two suspects in connection with the murder.

“While conveying the suspects to the police station for necessary action, he was confronted by an angry mob demanding that the suspects be handed over for extrajudicial killing.

“To protect the suspects from the crowd, the youth president sought refuge at the Ala Divisional Police Headquarters. However, the mob pursued them and launched a violent assault on the police facility.

“The crowd threw stones and other dangerous objects at the station while resisting efforts by police rescue teams to gain access to the area.

Abayomi stated that in response to the violence, tactical and other rescue teams were deployed to restore order, and police operatives successfully rescued the two suspects from the mob.

“However, the patrol team conveying the suspects back to Akure came under attack. During the incident, two police officers sustained gunshot injuries from pellets allegedly fired from a youth pump-action firearm. The injured officers were immediately rushed to a nearby hospital for urgent medical attention.

Following the attack, operatives of the Command arrested 14 suspects in connection with the assault on the police officers and the attack on the police facility and rescue team.

“Investigations are ongoing to establish the individual roles of those arrested and ensure that anyone found culpable faces the full weight of the law.

“The Command has maintained tactical deployment in the area to prevent any further breakdown of law and order. Normalcy has since returned to the community, while security monitoring continues.

“The Commissioner of Police, CP Felix Ohagwu, psc, mnips, mspsp, condemned the attack on police officers and the police facility, describing mob action and attempts to obstruct lawful police operations as unacceptable.

“No individual or group has the right to take the law into their own hands, regardless of the gravity of any alleged crime.”