A Nigerian security operative from the regional Amotekun Corps has died following a violent assault allegedly carried out by a soldier and his accomplices in southwestern Osun State, officials confirmed Sunday. The incident has sparked calls for accountability and heightened scrutiny of tensions between state and federal security forces.
According to Isaac Omoyele, Commander of the Osun Amotekun Corps, the attack occurred Saturday evening in Ijebu-Jesa when a newly recruited soldier, dressed in military camouflage, approached an Amotekun outpost with “hostile intent.” After making derogatory remarks about the state-backed security group, the soldier and his associates reportedly targeted operative Peter Samuel Tope, who was riding a motorcycle near the station. Witnesses stated the assailants struck Tope with a blunt object, knocking him to the ground before launching a 20-minute assault that left him critically injured.
“They hit him repeatedly on the head and fled the scene on commercial motorcycles as he lay bleeding,” Omoyele said in a statement released to journalists. Tope was rushed to Wesley Guild Hospital in Ilesa but succumbed to his injuries Sunday morning. A second Amotekun member injured in the attack remains hospitalized, police confirmed.
Local authorities have identified the primary suspect as an active-duty Nigerian Army private. Osun police spokesperson DSP Abiodun Ojelabi stated investigators are collaborating with military officials to apprehend those involved. “We have the suspect’s details and are pursuing all leads,” Ojelabi told the News Agency of Nigeria, though the soldier’s identity and motive remain unclear.
The Amotekun Corps, established in 2020 by southwestern states to address regional security challenges, has occasionally faced friction with national security agencies. Omoyele condemned the attack as “unprovoked” and demanded a full investigation, vowing to ensure “those responsible face justice.”
The incident highlights ongoing concerns about accountability within Nigeria’s security apparatus, particularly amid rising communal violence and localized conflicts. Human rights groups have long criticized excessive force and interagency rivalries as compounding security crises in parts of the country.
As authorities work to resolve the case, Tope’s death underscores the volatile dynamics between state-level security initiatives and federal forces—a tension observers warn could undermine efforts to stabilize Nigeria’s increasingly fractured security landscape.
