Four players of Shooting Stars Sports Club, 3SC, were reportedly assaulted in Ibadan by men of the Nigerian Army on Tuesday night while returning from their evening training session.
Ebenezer Odeyemi, Adekunle Adeniyi, Sochima Elum and Chimamkpa Onwubuchie had walked together after leaving Lekan Salami stadium Adamasingba, for a nearby cafeteria at Idisin (near the club camp at Jericho).
It was gathered that the soldiers who were reportedly on security checks descended on Ebenezer Odeyemi, beating him for no reason while the other players ran for their lives.
“We just left the training session around 6 pm and we decided to take dinner at a nearby food canteen. As law-abiding citizens, we actually saw them about a mile away from our seats but we believe they are on their normal duties. So, we decided to continue with our discussions while eating.”
Odeyemi recounts how he was unjustly beaten:
“They came to us with an attempt to beat. My colleagues had to escape and while I was about to manage my way out of them, I fell and they pounced on me for serious beating. I told them I’m a professional footballer with a state club (Shooting Stars) but they never listened, I was beaten and they left with my phone.”
“We later decided to inform a retired military man at the estate within the club camp for assistance. We both located their base and they gave no meaningful reasons for their actions, they apologized and returned my phone but my brother, I was beaten. The wife of the retired soldier gave me first aid treatment after we had returned to the estate but it was a sad incident for me.”
Asked what could have led to the unfortunate incident and security surveillance carried out by the soldiers, Ebenezer explained;
“I remembered the retired military man asked them reasons for their patrol, particularly at Jericho – they told us there were reports that some guys fought each other a few weeks ago. Surprisingly, we were away on a fixture and we knew nothing of such because it happened about four miles away from the cateen.”
Recall that Ebenezer Odeyemi was the hero for shooting stars on January 26 when he came off the bench to grab a late winner at the 90+5 minute against visiting Kwara United at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan in NPFL MD 8.
Leave a Reply