The EndSARS protests in Ogbomoso havevsnowballed into war situation with almost all areas of the town now engulfed in crises as rioters continued to protest the killing of Jimoh Isiaq yesterday by men of the Nigerian Police at Owode during a peaceful demonstration against police brutality particularly the Special Anti-Crime Squad (SARS).
The denial by the police that no one was killed by police bullets aggravated the situation as youths trooped out in their hundreds early this morning burning tyres and barricading roads.
The protest this morning indeed started from Ita-Alaasa area, where the family compound of Jimoh Isiaq is situated.
The police failing to exercise restraint as was the situation yesterday, went there again, firing live bullets at the protesters. The death of two other persons caused the riots to spread to other parts of the town as students of LAUTECH and others joined in the protests.
Overwhelmed by the scale of the riots the police in Ogbomoso area command, The Insight learnt from a police source had called in reinforcements from neighboring police commands.
Following the killing of two persons earlier today allegedly by the police, the rioters took the corpse to the palace of Ogbomoso, and vandalized the whole place, breaking glass windows and upturning seats and tables in the palace court. Tyres of cars parked were also deflated by the rioters.
However, there are no reports of attacks on any person in the palace.
As at the time of filing this report, rioters are still burning tyres and barricading roads; Sunsun Police station was earlier attacked the same way Sabo Police Post was vandalized.
A police source informed, ‘We had to send for reinforcements because we understood the thinking of the hoodlums, they were waiting for us to exhaust our ammunitions so that they could overpower us and overrun the whole place. Reinforcements have arrived.’