One police source said Afolabi was removed after his investigation reportedly began implicating top state actors.


The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has removed Wilfred Olutokunbo Afolabi from his position as the Commissioner of Police in Ondo State for initiating an investigation into a violent attack on June 12 protesters in Akure.

Police sources at Force Headquarters in Abuja told SaharaReporters that Afolabi's removal was also linked to his decision to grant audience to human rights activist Omoyele Sowore and other protesters who visited the state police headquarters to report the assault.

A police wireless message dated June 24, 2025 and obtained by SaharaReporters showed that the IGP had approved the posting of three senior police officers, including Afolabi, to various commands and formations across the country.

According to the memo, Afolabi has been reassigned as the Commissioner of Police in charge of Administration at the Department of Training and Development (DTD), Force Headquarters, Abuja.

Police

The department oversees the planning, coordination, and implementation of training programmes and career development initiatives for police officers.

SaharaReporters gathered that Afolabi has been replaced in Ondo State by Adebowale Lawal, who previously served as the Commissioner of Police, Quartermaster, at the Force Headquarters.

The protesters, who were commemorating Nigeria’s Democracy Day, were attacked by thugs led by Gbenga Aluko, a known political enforcer with a violent history. Aluko, who was previously sentenced to death in Ekiti State, is said to have mobilised a gang of cultists and members of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) to violently disrupt the peaceful demonstration that began around 7:30 a.m. at Cathedral Junction in Akure.

One police source said Afolabi was removed after his investigation reportedly began implicating top state actors.

“Wilfred Afolabi was removed when he began investigating those behind the attack, which implicated the governor and his Chief Security Officer (CSO) in funding the OPC operative from Ekiti who had once been sentenced to death,” the source disclosed.

Another source at the Force Headquarters revealed that Egbetokun was also displeased with Afolabi for granting audience to Sowore, who led a delegation to lodge a formal complaint over the June 12 attack and the alleged complicity of police officers.

“The IGP was furious that Afolabi even gave Sowore the time of day to lodge complaints instead of dispersing the protesters with tear gas or turning him away outright,” the source said.

According to the insider, the IGP had initially ordered that Afolabi’s removal letter be drafted, and some officers at the headquarters saw the document. However, the decision was temporarily reversed.

“The removal letter had already been typed; some of us saw it. But later, we heard at the headquarters that the matter had been dropped and that the IGP had shelved the plan. But last week, the directive was revived, and now Afolabi has officially been removed as Ondo State Commissioner of Police,” the source added.

Attack On June 12 Protesters In Ondo

On June 12, Democracy Day, Sowore accused the police of colluding with thugs to violently disrupt a peaceful protest in Akure, Ondo State.

Sowore, a former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) and Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, condemned the attack as a deliberate attempt to silence pro-democracy voices.

"We just witnessed a disturbing incident here in Ondo State—thugs and policemen working together to attack pro-democracy activists during a peaceful protest. We saw them with our own eyes. The police were clearly collaborating with the thugs as they beat up protesters. It was very, very sad,” Sowore said in a video.






"We saw the thugs shouting and attacking people. They tried to attack me too. They had clearly marked me out, but we left the scene so we could report this to the world.” he added.

“It’s truly pathetic that in a country where people fought and died for democracy, thugs have now taken over the democratic space, with the active support of the Nigerian Police.”

The demonstrators, who had gathered to mark the annual June 12 Democracy Day, were singing and marching under the watch of a police detachment. Earlier, the Ondo State Commissioner of Police, Afolabi had visited the protest grounds and addressed officers stationed at the venue.

However, according to eyewitnesses, Aluko and his group stormed the event from behind and began physically attacking the protesters. Disturbingly, the attackers appeared to operate with police complicity, with officers allegedly making no effort to intervene.

The situation escalated when Sowore arrived at the scene. As he attempted to alight from his vehicle, the assailants reportedly shouted, “Sowore is here, let’s attack him. He’s the leader of this group!”

Sowore's vehicle quickly withdrew, narrowly avoiding an attack, while the thugs pursued on foot.

In response to the violent disruption and police inaction, Sowore led a delegation—including human rights lawyer Barrister Tope Temokun—to the Ondo State Police Command Headquarters in Alagbaka.

There, they met with the Commissioner Afolabi and formally demanded a thorough investigation and the immediate arrest of those involved in the attack.

After the meeting, CP Afolabi assured Sowore and Temokun that the complaints would be investigated and necessary action would be taken.

While addressing the state police commissioner, Sowore said, “Another thing I'll tell you that I know sufficiently about the police is that there is no department in which there is not a policeman recording operations.

“So, you must internally find the policeman in the operation department who recorded. Everything we are having here is being recorded by one of your people.

“That's what the PRA unit does. So, ask whoever is within the operation who recorded. They saw it. I have it. I have forwarded it to you.

“I'm here, like I told you because I wanted to make this protestation to you. It's not to believe that action will be taken. I'm very sceptical about the police, you know that. But if you take action, it will be the first time a police officer will honestly take action against thugs. But we will monitor it.

“We want to give you the benefit of the doubt, which is very rare as a currency on our part. But you have said it, that you have the training, you will act on it. And before we came here, I spoke to you on the phone, and you said you had commenced an investigation.”



History Of Violence

On January 7, 2025, SaharaReporters reported that armed hoodlums, reportedly led by Aluko, a supporter of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, had attacked Orita Merin Ayedun Adegbola community in Akure South.

Notably, Aluko has a history with the law, having been arraigned and sentenced to death in the Ekiti State High Court on charges of secret cult membership, unlawful firearm possession, and murder.

The January attack was to impose Aluko’s brother, Goke Aluko, as the chairman of the community’s youth forum.




Convicted of Cultism and Murder in 2020

In September 2020, the Ekiti State High Court in Ado-Ekiti sentenced Gbenga Aluko, then 29 years old, to death by hanging for his involvement in cult-related violence and the killing of three individuals in the state.

Presiding over the case, Justice Abiodun Adesodun held that the prosecution had successfully proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.

"The penalty for the offence committed and established against the accused is death, he is hereby sentenced to death by hanging. May the Lord have mercy on your soul," the judge ruled.

The charges against Aluko stated that he was a member of the Eiye Confraternity, a proscribed secret society, contrary to Section 4 of the Secret Cult (Abolition and Prohibition) First Amendment Law No. 6 of Ekiti State, 2017.

In a confessional statement tendered in court, Aluko reportedly admitted that he and his cult group in Ado-Ekiti were responsible for orchestrating the killings of individuals believed to be rival cultists.

The prosecution, led by Julius Ajibare, called two witnesses during the trial, although no physical exhibits were presented. The defense did not present any witnesses, but Aluko was represented by his counsel, Femi Adetoye.

Aluko and three other members of the Eiye Fraternity—Ayodele Ayodeji (31), Olamide Olurunsola (43), and Adewale Adekunle (23), all from Ifaki Ekiti—had been arrested by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad in February 2019. They were accused of being involved in the targeted killings of rival cult members from the AIYE confraternity across Ekiti and Ondo states.

According to the police, items recovered during the arrest included a cutlass, charms, one Dell laptop, two iPad devices, one Infinix phone, and a photograph of a foreign woman.



A Dramatic Legal Reversal

However, in a dramatic reversal three years later, the Ekiti State High Court in Ado-Ekiti acquitted and discharged Gbenga Aluko in March 2023 of charges including secret cult membership, unlawful possession of firearms, and murder.

The prosecution’s case had included an eyewitness statement alleging that the witness and the deceased, William Ayegboro, were conversing at a beer parlour in the Atikankan area of Ado-Ekiti around 8 p.m. when an unidentified person shot Ayegboro in the face.

The gunman’s face, according to the witness, was not clearly seen. The victim later died at the hospital.

In his defence, Aluko admitted he had previously been involved in cult activities but claimed he had renounced such affiliations before relocating to Ado-Ekiti. He maintained he had no involvement in the killing, asserting he was in Akure at the time of the incident.



Justice Adekunle Adeleye accepted Aluko’s alibi.

Aluko was consequently acquitted and released from custody.