The Osun State Police Command has arrested three suspects over the killing of three people in Ikire, headquarters of Irewole Local Government Area of the state.
The suspects were also linked to an August 24, 2026, attack on policemen during which two passers-by were killed, three officers were injured, and a police rifle was reportedly snatched and fired indiscriminately.
The police said the suspects were also connected to the killing of a youth, Seun Ajayi, who was attacked while having his hair cut at a barber’s salon in Ikire.
The command’s spokesperson, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, confirmed the arrests in a statement on Thursday, identifying the suspects as Nurudeen Ademakinwa, popularly known as Igboya Aye-nuru, 30; Agboluaje Usman, 23; and Awoniran Toheeb, 20.
Ojelabi said the police received a report on October 3 that some hoodlums, allegedly led by Ademakinwa, had attacked two friends at a barbing salon in the Oja-Ale area of Ikire.
According to him, the attackers allegedly used machetes to kill Ajayi, while the other victim escaped and reported the incident to the police.
“On October 5, our men, through an intelligence-led operation, apprehended Nurudeen together with two other suspects over the killing of Seun Ajayi,” he said.
He added that the police recovered an axe, two double-edged knives and some mobile phones during the operation.
The police spokesperson further alleged that Ademakinwa had sent threatening voice messages to some residents of Wasimi, warning them to leave the town or face the consequences.
Ojelabi also linked the suspect to the killing of the two passers-by during the August 24 attack on officers attached to the Ikire Divisional Police Headquarters.
He assured that investigators would charge the suspects before a court of competent jurisdiction after the investigations concluded.