Metro

Ogun: Three Killed, Houses Burnt As Obaship Tussle Tears Agosasa Community

Published

2 years ago

September 13, 2022

Editor

No fewer than three persons have been reported dead in Agosasa, Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State after violence erupted over who becomes the next monarch of the town.

Following the death of the first Oja of Agosasa, Oba James Elegbede, in February 2022, there has been tension over who would take over the throne.

It was gathered that the Obaship tussle got to its climax on Sunday when the youths of Agosasa took to the streets to warn against the installation of an unpopular candidate as the next Oja.

It was learnt that learnt from an anonymous source that “the youths of Agosasa are against the alleged steps being taken by a socialite and member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Otunba Akeem Adigun, to install a king.

On Sunday, about five persons were reportedly injured and taken to hospital when the face-off started.

“The intervention of soldiers, policemen and traditionalists helped to stop the crisis on Sunday evening. I could not pass through the town while going home,” an Ipokia resident told DAILY POST.

The situation, however, got out of hand on Monday with the murder of one Nafiu Amosun, who was said to be the closest ally to the candidate being supported by the youths of Agosasa.

The angry youths alleged that the said Nafiu Amosun was shot dead near the Afa river by the other faction and this triggered the current chaos in the community.

As of Monday evening, houses and vehicles belonging to Akeem Adigun; a former council Chairman and appointee of Governor Dapo Abiodun, Isiaka Aderounmu and others have been set on fire by some angry youths.

Also, two more persons were said to have been killed, making a total of three lives lost in the melee.

“At the moment, Agosasa is like a ghost town with a heavy presence of soldiers and policemen. Residents are indoors as those who could flee are already on their way out of the town. Some are running away through the forest. It is getting out of hand,” another source said in confidence.

It was gathered that chiefs and elders of the town are also on the run over fear that their houses might be razed.

Meanwhile, sons and daughters of Ipokia Local Government have taken to social media to call for calm, asking the State Government to take an urgent step to restore peace in Agosasa.

“There is war in Agosasa. This is not a joke. The Ogun State Government should stay action on Agosasa Obaship issue for now,” an elder has advised.

The Ogun State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ganiyu Hamzat, did not answer calls nor respond to text messages sent to him to react to the situation.

The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, has confirmed the incident, saying one person was confirmed to have been shot dead to the best of his knowledge.

“The incident in Agosasa is an Obaship tussle. Unfortunately, one person was shot. We learnt that some houses and vehicles were razed. But our men are there on ground. The operation is being led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Department of Operations. Normalcy has been restored and our men are on ground to forestall the further escalation of the crisis,” Oyeyemi said.

The police spokesman disclosed that some arrests have been made but refused to give further details about those arrested.

Oyeyemi warned that people should not take laws into their hands for any reason.

He said the Obaship tussle should have been left for the court to address, saying “we don’t need to shed blood because of the Oba title.”

“If everyone in the town had been killed before the installation, who will the new king rule over? Its not worth it. Nobody’s ambition is worth the blood of anybody. We should learn how to address issues legally instead of toeing the path of violence. It doesn’t pay anybody,” he advised.

Metro

Okuama/Okoloba Impasse: Women Protest In Black Attire, Raise Issues [PHOTOS]

Published

1 hour ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

The protesting women of Okoloba community

Protesters who are majorly women from Okoloba community, Delta State, on Saturday, May 18, 2024, took to the street to protest what they called the return of armed youths of Okuama in Ughelli South Local Government Area of the state.

INFO DAILY reports that Okoloba community in Bomadi Local Government Area and Okuama community in Ughelli South Local Government Area, all in Delta State have been at loggerhead over land dispute and others.

The protesting Okoloba women in black attire staged the peaceful protest along the coastal fringe of Koloba community, chanting against violence and bloodbath.

The placard carrying women, led by the chairlady of Okoloba Community, Mrs Timipakebi Goodwin, and secretary, Mrs Mary Koibi, alleged that the armed youths of Okuama were threatening the peace of the riverine area.

Some of the protesting Women

Some inscriptions on the placards read: ‘We say no to violence’; ‘enough of the killings on our land;’ ‘armed Okuama youths returning in a commando style;’ ‘we say no to the return of armed youths of Okuama;’ ‘resettle Okuama people among their Ewu brothers in Ughelli South LGA;’ ‘we mourn the killing of the 17 soldiers,’ among others.’

Reading a letter to newsmen, a copy of each she said was submitted to the police, DSS, NSCDC, JTF as well as the acting chairman of Bomadi Local local Government Council, Mrs Goodwin noted that the latest killing by the youths of Okuama showed that they could kill human beings at the slightest provocation.

The letter which contained an S.O.S. to the Federal Government, further reads: “First, we the women of Okoloba Community sympathize with the killing of 17 soldiers and officers of the Nigerian army on peace and rescue mission to Okuama, following the kidnap of our son. We sincerely mourn their untimely death and pray for the repose of their souls. We also pray for their families.

The protesting women

“However, less than 24 hours after the exit of the troops from Okuama, a fresh crisis erupted with another neighbouring community, culminating in the killing of one person while three other persons were seriously injured. The person who was killed and those sustaining machete wounds were alleged to have gone there to loot.

“The latest killing showed that the people of Okuama can kill a human at the slightest provocation; the sanctity of human life means nothing to them. It also shows that neighbouring Ijaw communities like Okoloba are not safe.

“So, resetting the people of Okuama in their present location, which is in-between communities in Bomadi Local Government Area, is an attempt to encourage further communal clashes and bloodbaths.

“Just last week, youths of Okuama Community came out of the Mein-toruabubor creek, which leads to Ewu, on three speedboats and all of them on camouflage. They shot sporadically in the air before proceeding to OKuama. They moved to and fro the creek three times, and at every time they shot their guns in the air at the entrance of the creek.

“We are calling on the federal government to come to our aid, and the panacea to these incessant clashes and killings is for the government to relocate Okuama to Ewu clan in Ughelli South Local Government Area, where they truly and rightly belong.

“Resettling them among their own people in Ewu clan of Urhobo land will foster mutual trust among themselves as they are of the same ancestry and speak the same dialect”.

Metro

JUST IN: Truck Rams Into BRT On Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

Published

5 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

A truck has rammed into a Lagos State BRT bus at Ibafo bus-stop along the Lagos Ibadan Expressway.

The PUNCH correspondent who went to the scene gathered that the accident occurred around some minutes to 6am on Saturday.

Officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps and Police on response call at the accident scene insisted that only their Public Relations Officers were authorised to speak.

However, unconfirmed reports from onlookers noted that several people on the BRT bus were injured.

Onlookers accounts noted that the BRT was parked loading its passengers at the bus stop before the truck loaded with cows heading to Lagos rammed into it, taking it off the road to destroy shops and kiosks by the roadside.

The cow truck had been towed a little away from the scene so as not to hinder traffic.

Details later

Metro

Court Jails Social Media Influencer For Celebrity Scam

Published

14 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

A Federal High Court in Ikoyi, has sentenced Aluko Tunmise to one year in prison for his involvement in a celebrity scam.

Tunmise was prosecuted by the Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a cybercrime-related charge.

This was disclosed in a post on X by EFCC on Friday, May 17.

The post reads: “Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, convicted and sentenced one Aluko Tunmise, a self-acclaimed social media influencer and model, to one year imprisonment for celebrity scam.

He was arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a one-count charge bordering on cybercrimes.”

“One of the counts reads: “That you, ALUKO TUNMISE JUWONLO (A.K.A. KEANU REEVES), sometime between January and March, 2024 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, directly made a false statement, wherein you held yourself out as a white man by name “KEANU REEVES” on your Telegram Account, knowing same to be false and with intent that the representation is relied upon for the purpose of procuring the issuance of financial instrument to yourself and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 22(3) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act, 2015′.

He pleaded ‘guilty’ to the charge when it was read to him.

Following his guilty plea, prosecution counsel, C.C.Okezie, sought to present an operative of the EFCC, Vincent Sunday Kwambuge, to review the facts of the matter.

Kwanbuge told the court that the defendant was arrested sometime in March, 2024 at Lekki County Estate, Lagos, following credible intelligence received by the Commission on the activities of some internet fraudsters operating in the area.”