Amotekun, soldiers clash over arrest of cows in Ondo

…Just minor disagreement — Amotekun boss

By Akintunde Jacobs, Akure

Men of the Ondo State Security outfit, codenamed ‘Amotekun’ and the soldiers attached to the 32 Artillery Brigade, Owena Cantonment, Akure, on Tuesday clashed over the arrest of some cows that violated the anti-grazing Law of the state.

A source, who witnessed the incident that happened at the back of CAC Adu Memorial Secondary School in Oke-Aro area of Akure, the state capital, said the men of Amotekun arrested about 100 cows which had been destroying farmlands and other valuables in the area.

He said immediately the Amotekun outfit was marching the arrested cows to their office at Alagbaka area of the state, soldiers numbering about 10 stormed the area in a Hilux vehicle and prevented the arrest of the cows.

The witness, who lived in the area, said the soldiers insisted that the Amotekun men would not go away with the cows because they belonged to their officers.

But the Amotekun officers insisted that the cows had violated the anti-grazing Law and must be taken to the office for the owners to bail them or pay for the damaged items.

The eyewitness said the crisis started with an exchange of hot words and later snowballed into an exchange of fisticuffs between the two security outfits.

He said it was during the exchange of fisticuffs that the soldiers and the Amotekun officers started shooting sporadically into the air, the development that led to residents scampering for safety in order not to be caught in the crossfire of the two security outfits.

The source said the soldiers eventually overpowered the men of the Amotekun Corps and took two of the officers away.

But the Commander of Amotekun in the state, Adetunji Adeleye in his reaction said it was a minor disagreement between the security outfits which had been resolved amicably.