Forensics clear officers of Ibadan Poly graduate shooting – Police

The Oyo State Police Command has said forensic evidence cleared two of its officers accused of shooting a 30-year-old graduate of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Nurudeen Azeez, during a robbery response in 2021.

 

The officers, Inspector Gbenga Ayodele and Sergeant Ayilaran Boluwaji, both attached to the Agodi Divisional Police Headquarters, were responding to a robbery alert when the incident occurred.

 

The Command’s spokesperson, DSP Ayanlade Olayinka, stated this on Saturday while responding to the recent resurfacing of the incident in a viral video and newspaper reports.

 

According to him, an investigation conducted in 2021 found no evidence linking the officers to the shooting.

 

The police said a forensic sweep of the scene recovered a locally fabricated pistol, while 15 pellets were later removed from Azeez’s body.

 

The statement said, “The records confirmed that they had signed out two AK-47 rifles for their assignment that night.

 

“The forensic examination established that neither AK-47 rifle had been fired in connection with the incident.

 

“In addition, the pellets extracted from the victim were not consistent with AK-47 ammunition.”

 

The Command added that the recovered pistol showed characteristics consistent with recent discharge, although the finding did not establish who fired the weapon.

 

“Based on the totality of the evidence, the investigation concluded that the allegation that either of the two police officers shot Nurudeen Azeez was not substantiated,” the statement said.

 

The police, however, acknowledged that Azeez sustained a genuine gunshot injury, stressing that the investigation could not establish the identity of the person responsible.

 

Azeez had recently recounted the incident, saying he was shot on August 16, 2021, while travelling on a commercial motorcycle from Iwo Road to his hostel in Ijokodo, Ibadan.

 

He alleged that he was struck by a bullet around Idi-Ape after the motorcycle took an alternative route because of traffic.

 

Azeez said the bullet hit his spinal cord, leaving him unable to move, and alleged that officers at the scene fled after the incident.

 

He also said he had continued to suffer the consequences of the injury five years later.