Truckload of northern youth Amotekun arrested at Okitipupa implicates Nigeria army

A truckload of youth from the north intercepted in front of the Okitipupa Army Barracks on Thursday night said they were sent for military training at the barracks, a claim the army debunked.

Series of claims and counterclaims have since followed.

The chairman, Okitipupa Local Government Area, Mr Igbekele Akinrinwa, who addressed the people at the scene of the incident, alleged that it was an indigene who facilitated the travellers trip to the town.

The Public Relations Officer of the state police command, Mr Tee-Leo Ikoro confirmed the men are mostly northerners who said they wanted to undergo military training in the barracks to be security guards.

“But the commander did not allow them because he did not have a signal to that effect. But since there was no place to keep them in Okitipupa, they have been handed over to Amotekun,” he said.

The Western Nigerian Security Network that arrested and detained them could only confirm the arrest.

But the local have been worrying about the sudden influx of the youth—and their purported mission.

For weeks, Nigerians have been reeling i pains and anguish of kidnapping, killing by bandits, herders, Boko Haram, and IPOB.