1 Feared Dead, 2 Injured In Ekiti, Kwara Communal Dispute

Tension is brewing in Eda Oniyo, the headquarters of the Ilejemeje local government area of Ekiti State following an attack on the community at the weekend that allegedly led to the death one person.

Some armed hoodlums suspected to have come from Kwara State had last month stormed the border community attacking the council secretariat and some residents.

According to Eleda of Eda Oniyo, Oba Julius Awolola, the hoodlums then attacked some of the residents on their farms, vandalised a car while setting three motorbikes ablaze.

The latest development might not be unconnected with the land dispute between the Ekiti agrarian community and the people of Obbo-Ayegunle, a Kwara State community.

Meanwhile, the Ekiti State Government has appealed to the residents of Eda Oniyo to remain calm over the attack.

The State Commissioner for Information, Rt. Hon. Taiwo Olatunbosun, in a statement made available to newsmen in Ado Ekiti on Sunday, explained that available information indicated that the escalated boundary dispute between the two communities led to the attack.

Olatunbosun who disclosed that one person from the community was killed in the fracas, stressed that soldiers, police and members of the Amotekun Corps had drafted to the community to immediately curtail the crisis, and that the situation has been brought under control.

The Commissioner assured that additional troops had already moved to the area to protect the community while the Army formation in Kwara State has been contacted to deploy troops along Kwara side of the border in order to curtail further attack from both sides.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Sunday Abutu who confirmed the attack, however, said that only one person was fatally injured in the attack.

Abutu said, “The command is not unaware of the incident that occurred at Eda Oniyo-Ekiti yesterday where suspected armed hoodlums invaded part of the community and fatally injured one person and left two seriously wounded.

“The CP, the army commander in Ekiti State as well as the Ekiti State government representatives have visited the scene to assess the situation and proffer a lasting solution as well as ensuring that the perpetrators are brought to book.

“Adequate operatives that include the police and the military have been deployed to that exis to ensure maximum security for the people of Eda Oniyo-Ekiti,” he said.

The police commissioner implored members of the public, especially the people of Eda Oniyo-Ekiti to be calm and avoid taking laws into their hands, while assuring that the Command will ensure the arrest and prosection of those behind the attack.