Soldiers have been deployed to the communities of Ilobu and Ifon in Osun State following fatal battles between the two communities. Many inhabitants have left their homes.
Security agents evacuating residents
Residents of Ilobu and Ifon were seen leaving the affected regions in huge numbers when our correspondent visited the Ojutu area of Ilobu on Thursday.
Additionally, our journalist noticed that the state government was evacuating corps members stationed in the impacted districts. At the entrances to the two villages, soldiers, Department of State Security agents, and police agents were seen.
Tajudeen Oyasope, a resident of Ilobu, said he made the decision to evacuate his family from the conflict zone as it worsened over the course of the previous night.
The fight got very tensed overnight
“I’m relocating my family out of the neighbourhood where there have been racial conflicts”, he declared. “My family is leaving, but I’ll stay behind to monitor the situation”.
Overnight, the fight became very tense. We had trouble falling asleep. We could clearly hear gunshots. I’ve made the decision to get my family out of the struggle to avoid getting caught up in it.
Additionally, in a brief interview, a corps member who only wanted to be known as Cynthia stated, “I am serving in Ifon, and because of the fight, all of us corps members serving in the town are being moved out to another place.”
A new police patrol vehicle was burnt
When discussing the situation in the two towns during the skirmishes, Yemisi Opalola, a spokeswoman for the Osun Police Command, said, “They burned a new patrol vehicle of police yesterday (Wednesday).
They claimed we were siding with one side. It is regrettable that the van supplied to us by the Monitoring Section caught fire. Our four men, who were shot, are currently in the hospital.
“Among those shot was the Ilobu Divisional Police Officer. He took gunfire to the hand. But praise God, everyone is benefiting from treatment. When our soldiers tried to mediate peace in the neighbourhood, they ambushed policemen,” he complained.
According to jerrymusa.com In order to avert an escalation, the Osun State administration has recently imposed a curfew in the two local governments of Irepodun and Orolu.