Operatives of the Oyo State Police Command have confirmed the death of one person and the arrest of twelve others during a protest by staff of Sumal Foods in Ibadan.

In a statement shared on its official X handle on Tuesday, the command said the protest took place around 4:00 p.m. on Monday at one of the company’s factories in Oluyole, Ibadan.

The police said their investigation revealed that the workers protested over false information about the disbursement of palliative to private companies in the country.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the protest was premised on false information created and peddled by some workers over the disbursement of palliatives to privately-owned companies,’’ he said.

It said the protesters complained that the factory denied them their welfare packages, adding that criminals soon hijacked the protest and broke into the premises.

“The protest was hijacked by criminal elements who forced their way into the factory, destroying vehicles and property worth millions of naira,” the police said.

It added, “One death was recorded during the violent protest.”

However, the police said normalcy had been restored to the affected area after officers were deployed to prevent future reoccurrences.

“Twelve Suspects have been arrested in connection with the violent protest,” it said, noting that the commissioner of police, Ayodele Sonubi, has directed the homicide department of the Criminal Investigation Department to take up the case with the deputy commissioner of police directly in charge of investigations.

However, a staff member of the factory told Sahara Reporters that the management had invited the police to the premises before they arrived at work.

He alleged that the operatives “started harassing the workers. They shot teargas canisters at the protesting workers, and that incident scattered the people. Then they started shooting live bullets at the protesters.”

“They shot one person, called Phillips dead. I saw his dead body, and later, I heard they killed two more people. But I am sure of one person I saw his body. I just know the person as Phillip; he is a staff member in year three. All the staff, including the contract staff, joined in the protest and it was largely peaceful until police started shooting them,” he further alleged.