A Disturbing Night in Ibadan
On Wednesday, October 22, 2025, as the residents of Asuni area along Isale Osi Road in Ibadan, Oyo State, prepared for sleep, Madam Fatima Ahmed, a septuagenarian shop owner, was still engaged in late-night sales to those in need of food items. Her shop, which sells various goods, became the center of an unexpected and chaotic incident.
Suddenly, a customer named Wasiu Egbetunde arrived at the shop to purchase sachet water. However, what started as a simple transaction quickly spiraled into a violent outburst. Wasiu allegedly entered the shop, where he began destroying items of unknown value. His actions were said to be fueled by the illicit drug called Loud, a strain of cannabis that he had taken shortly before arriving at the shop.
The rampage lasted from 11pm until nearly 4am the following day. During this time, Wasiu grabbed cartons of malt and soft drinks and broke the bottles by throwing them through a burglar-proof door. This act caused injuries to about eight men who tried to stop him. The chaos escalated further when Wasiu attacked operatives of the Amotekun Corps, who were attempting to calm him down and ask him to leave the shop.
The Amotekun operatives, led by Mr. Sikiru Apanpa, the second-in-command to the Ibadan South-West Local Government Area Coordinator, stated that it took them hours to subdue the suspect. Mr. Apanpa revealed that he was among those injured by the bottles thrown by Wasiu. Eventually, Wasiu was immobilized after being shot in his arm. He then walked out of the shop and surrendered himself.
Madam Ahmed, who also lives in the neighborhood, described how the incident began. She mentioned that Wasiu came to buy N100 worth of sachet water but disappeared after the sachets were brought to him. When he returned, he received the sachet water and sat outside her shop eating rice from a bowl he brought with him. Suddenly, he started shouting, “They want to kill me! They want to kill me!”
As a bike rider stopped to make purchases, Wasiu sprang up and wrapped himself around Madam Ahmed. She struggled to loosen his arms, but he wound his legs around her. People told him he would kill the elderly woman. In a moment of panic, he picked her up and threw her against the shop doorway. He then entered the shop and started breaking bottles of malt and soft drinks, throwing them through the burglar-proof slide at the middle of the shop, hitting those trying to tell him to leave. The impact of the broken bottles caused severe injuries, including one person losing part of their ear and another sustaining a leg injury.
A young boy ran to a nearby filling station to alert the Amotekun operatives about the situation. The officers arrived and persuaded Wasiu to come out, but he continued throwing bottles at them, injuring them as well. Madam Ahmed claimed that the goods destroyed in the shop were worth more than N3 million, while N250,000 cash she tied at the edge of her wrapper also disappeared during the melee. Those injured were taken to a private hospital for medical treatment.
Wasiu defended his actions, stating that he ran into the shop to protect himself from being killed by some boys in the area. He explained that he had bought a tricycle on hire purchase, which had a fault, leaving him without a means of livelihood. That night, he went to his mother for dinner for himself and his wife. On his way home, he stopped by at Asuni area, where a friend was selling hard drugs, to get money from him. His friend gave him two doses of Loud to smoke.
Wasiu said he felt uncomfortable due to the drug and first sat in a drainage to cool his brain. Later, he stood up to go home but remembered he had no water to drink at home. He stopped at Mama’s shop and paid N100 for sachet water to take home but did not wait to collect it. He forgot, and unfortunately, he met some boys who demanded his phone and money. They collected his phone and the N500 given to him by his friend at the hemp joint. The boys also collected the bar soap his mother gave him to wash their dirty clothes.
Wasiu claimed he was just trying to get home due to the effect of the hard drug he took. Initially, he was getting calm and controlling himself, but the boys did not listen to him. They tried to pin him down, which escalated his condition. He remembered his sachet water at Mama’s shop and went back to get it, but the boys followed him. They demanded for the food his mother gave him, and he resisted. He sat on Mama’s bench and ate it.
The boys told him to go home, but he told them he was not leaving. They started beating him, and he held on to Mama for protection, but the boys kept pulling him away from her. They started using cutlass on him. They had a small keg of petrol and matches, intending to set him ablaze. Wasiu eventually succeeded in extricating himself from the boys and ran inside Mama’s shop. More boys living in the area came out and started throwing stones and other objects at him.
He said he didn’t break bottles filled with drinks at first but later had to in order to fend off the attackers. He added that he was angry that the shop owner did not render any help by sending the boys away. “It was the boys who attacked me where I was and wounded me,” Wasiu said. He disclosed that he ran into the big shop because he had no other means to escape from the attackers. He also said he hurled bottles at Amotekun operatives, thinking they were lying about their identity. “I was just saving my life,” the man with substance use disorder admitted.
Wasiu confessed that he started smoking while still in primary school, at the age of 10, explaining that he started with cigarettes before graduating to taking Loud. “But it had an adverse effect on me that day,” he admitted.
Wasiu’s mother, Mrs. Jemila Egbetunde, spoke with Sunday Tribune, revealing that when Wasiu came to her after 10pm that night to ask for food for himself and his wife, she gave him the rice she had cooked. He also asked for bar soap to wash his family’s dirty clothes, and she gave him the one she bought for N300, unaware that he would still brew trouble.
When asked whether she knew about her son taking illicit drugs, Mrs. Egbetunde replied: “Wasiu has been on hard drugs for a long time. I have shouted and shouted over it. I have reprimanded and counselled him, but he refuses to listen.” She mentioned that Wasiu was sent to school but stopped at Primary Four. She persuaded him to continue his education, but he did not yield. He was even made to sign a document to indicate that he was the one who decided to stop schooling.
Speaking on how she heard about her son’s misdemeanour, the mother said: “It was his wife, along with her neighbours, who rushed to my place at about 6am on Thursday and told me what happened. I followed her to the scene of the incident and saw with my own eyes all the things my son destroyed. What he did was very wrong, and I cannot be on his side. All I’m appealing for is leniency from the shop owner.”
The Aftermath and Reactions
The incident has left the community in shock, with many questioning the root causes of such violence. Wasiu’s story highlights the dangers of drug abuse and the impact it can have on individuals and their families. His mother’s account adds a personal dimension to the tragedy, emphasizing the struggle of parents dealing with children who are addicted to substances.
The local authorities have stepped in to address the situation, with the Amotekun Corps playing a crucial role in subduing the suspect. However, the incident raises broader concerns about drug use, mental health, and the need for community support systems.
In the wake of the event, there have been calls for increased awareness and intervention programs to tackle drug addiction and its consequences. The case of Wasiu Egbetunde serves as a stark reminder of the human cost of substance abuse and the importance of addressing these issues at both individual and societal levels.