A sigangan of Igangan Oba Lasisi Adeoye has accused the evicted Seriki Fulani Soliu Abdulkadri of sponsoring the deadly attack on his community in Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State at the weekend.
Oba Adeoye made the accusation yesterday while featuring on Ibadan-based Fresh FM 105.9 Programme, “The Situation Room”.
The monarch said Abdulkadri enlisted mercenaries, who wreaked havoc on the community on Saturday night. Residents put the number of casualties at 20. The Oyo State Police Command said only 11 persons were confirmed dead.
The traditional ruler said: “It was Seriki Fulani that was evicted from this land that came to attack us. He sent those people that collect money to fight wars to attack us on Saturday. They entered the town around 11pm.”
Asked if he had any premonition of the attack, he said: “No. We didn’t have any information to that effect. We’ve been trying our best and our people have been preparing for about three months that they would come, but we didn’t have any solution.
“What made us to suffer a great defeat was that we didn’t have good ammunition to fight. We don’t have money to buy good and modern ammunition and we don’t have the type of ammunition they are using.
“The police also don’t have the kind of ammunition the gunmen are using. We don’t have any ammunition to fight. We too can buy the weapons to defend ourselves, but it is very expensive. If we see money, we will buy.”
In spite of the situation, Oba Adeoye said the community still has confidence in the ability of the government to secure his subjects.
“We’re still calling on government to assist us,” he said.
But, the Senator representing Ogun West Tolu Odebiyi yesterday raised alarm over fleeing Igangan killer herdsmen making incursions into Sagada in Imeko/Afon and other adjoining areas in Yewa North Local Government area of Ogun State after the reported killings of residents of Igangan.
The senator, who is deeply concerned about the current spate of killings that pervade the length and breadth of the country, described this act as alarming.
According to him, recent report indicated that three persons were killed in Imeko, Ogun State by fleeing herdsmen from Igangan on Sunday.
“The victims, according to report, also confirmed by the Balogun of Imeko Isale, Chief Ganiu Akinyele, were Femi Bara, John Taiwo and Tunde Taiwo. The victims were killed and the motorcycle they rode on taken away while coming from Ologede around 11pm on Sunday,” he said in a statement
Odebiyi called on the security agencies to live up to their responsibilities in stemming the tide and addressing the troubling trend in the society by beefing up security in and around Yewa North and Ogun State.
Also yesterday, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, and Oyo State All Progressives Congress (APC) expressed sadness over killings of innocent souls and defenceless peoples of Igangan by suspected bandits.
A statement issued by the monarch’s Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaiye, also described the burning of the palace of Ashi of Igangan community as a “taboo”.
The first class monarch stated that concerted efforts towards addressing the challenges of peace and security must as a matter of urgency be topmost priority of the government and relevant stakeholders.
The Oyo State APC, in a statement, noted that the current situation in the state was not what the Governor Seyi Makinde administration and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) promised the electorate when it took over from APC government of Senator Abiola Ajimobi in 2019.
“Oyo State APC won’t stop advising the government of Makinde to be proactive and stop playing lip service and politicking with the security issues in Oyo State,” the party said.
The party urged Makinde to call a security summit to find lasting solutions to the security challenges facing the state.
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi yesterday night blamed the invasion on the negligent management of security intelligence, describing the attack as devilish and provocative.\
A statement by the Directorate of Media, Ooni’s palace, Comrade Moses Olafare, said such attack will ruin the unity and prosperity of Nigeria.
“The most worrisome part is that there was a tipoff recently by the Oyo State Chairman of Amotekun Security Corps, Gen. Ajibola Togun (retd), raising an alarm that some foreign Fulani herdsmen and bandits of Tuareg extraction have perfected plans to invade communities in Southwest.
“Such an attack in which victims credibly traced some perpetrators from a particular section of the country is capable of disintegrating this country. That is why those behind it must be smoked out of their jungles and dealt with accordingly.
“There is no better time than now for robust security measures, because the security of lives and properties of Nigerians is the basis upon which government is being constituted.
“We Yorubas are disciplined people and law-abiding but not fools. We are prepared to defend ourselves without resorting to anarchy.”
But, the Senator representing Ogun West Tolu Odebiyi yesterday raised alarm over fleeing Igangan killer herdsmen making incursions into Sagada in Imeko/Afon and other adjoining areas in Yewa North Local Government area of Ogun State after the reported killings of residents of Igangan.
The senator, who is deeply concerned about the current spate of killings that pervade the length and breadth of the country, described this act as alarming.
According to him, recent report indicated that three persons were killed in Imeko, Ogun State by fleeing herdsmen from Igangan on Sunday.
“The victims, according to report, also confirmed by the Balogun of Imeko Isale, Chief Ganiu Akinyele, were Femi Bara, John Taiwo and Tunde Taiwo. The victims were killed and the motorcycle they rode on taken away while coming from Ologede around 11pm on Sunday,” he said in a statement
Odebiyi called on the security agencies to live up to their responsibilities in stemming the tide and addressing the troubling trend in the society by beefing up security in and around Yewa North and Ogun State.
Senator Kola Balogun yesterday urged the federal Government to allow Amotekun to carry arms.
He spoke yesterdaywhile reacting over the Igangan killings.
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