This photo shows a bonfire on the road leading to the Kwara State Polytechnic following a clash between the police and suspected cultists in Ilorin on January 29, 2022.

One person has been killed and three others injured in a duel between police operatives and gunmen suspected to be cultists in Kwara State.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed the incident to Channels Television on Saturday in Ilorin.

He explained that the faceoff occurred in the morning at the Oyun area along the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin in the state capital.

Okasanmi added that the police killed one of the suspects and injured two other members of the gang during the clash, but a security operative sustained an injury.

Narrating how the clash occurred, he said a suspect cultist was attacked around the Lajolo area while the police made an attempt to maintain and restore peace.

Thereafter, the security operatives were attacked by the accomplices of the suspect who smashed their patrol van.

Passers-by are asked to raise their hands as they walk past a security checkpoint a clash between the police and suspected cultists in Ilorin on January 29, 2022.

The command’s spokesman disclosed that the police arrested two of the suspects with pistols and ammunition while two injured others and the wounded policeman were taken to a hospital for treatment.

He stressed that there was no confrontation between the police and students in the area, but with suspected cultists.

During a visit to the scene, Channels Television gathered that there was pandemonium in the area as a result of the clash which forced residents to flee.

As of 11 am, the road leading to the state-owned polytechnic was deserted with the presence of heavy security personnel stationed to maintain peace and order.

Bonfire littered the road leading to the school while a few residents watched as the security operatives move around.