There was tension in Ondo State on Sunday as operatives of the state police command and personnel of the state Security Network Agency, known as Amotekun Corps, engaged in a shootout.
Trouble started when policemen stormed the Amotekun office in the Ijoka axis of Akure metropolis.
In the ensuing fracas, the policemen forcibly took away a suspect in Amotekun's custody.
The suspect is said to be involved in stealing of a motorcycle, leading to his arrest by men of the Amotekun corps.
However, the police stormed the Amotekun office and took away the suspect, Tosin Adebisi, 18.
According to a source, "Amotekun personnel had told them that the suspect would only be released at their headquarters in Alagbaka.
"But they won't have that, leading to the sporadic shootings that caused tension in the city," the source said.
However, the Police spokesperson in the state, Olayinka Ayanlade, stated that the police operatives were the first to arrive at the scene to effect the arrest of the suspect before the arrival of the Amotekun Corps, who were in the company of a large group of commercial motorcyclists.
"In a disorderly and commando-like manner, the Amotekun personnel and accompanying individuals forcefully took custody of the suspect and the exhibits, in the process injuring a police officer.
"Following this, the Commissioner of Police, Ondo State Command, CP Wilfred Olutokunbo Afolabi, immediately directed tactical commanders to recover both the suspect and the exhibits.
"Subsequently, after intervention and dialogue led by the commanders of both agencies, the suspect and exhibits were returned to the police in the spirit of inter-agency cooperation.
"However, it must be stated that while the matter was being amicably resolved, a few aggrieved members of the Amotekun Corps, unhappy with the release of the suspect, began firing sporadically into the air," he said.