Osun communities land dispute turns violent, two injured

The two communities Ilobu, headquarters of Irepodun and Ifon-Osun, headquarters of Orolu local government both in Osun State have been at loggerhead over land matters for decades.

However, both communities have accused one another of engaging in violence act against their indigenes. Prince Jide Akinyooye of Ifon-Orolu Progressive Union and Adegoke Ogunsola for Olobu-in-Council, disagreed over which side started the fresh crisis.

Akinyooye in a statement on Tuesday said Ilobu invaded their streets shooting sporadically, leading to the displacement of residents in the area.

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“The Orolu Kingdom is deeply disturbed by the latest attack that started at the early hours of Tuesday, 14th January, 2025 on our community by the neighboring Ilobu community, that has led to the displacement of some residents of Odoje and Golden Gate areas in Ifon while two people have sustained gun shots as at the time of this press statement. This brazen disregard for human life and the directives of the Osun State Government and security agencies is unacceptable.

“We urge the government to take more decisive actions to prevent further loss of life and property by providing security for Orolu people, especially that Ilobu community leaders have no respect for constituted authority”, he said.

Reacting, Ogunsola said Ifon-Osun mercenaries were the one shooting sporadically around the town in fulfillment of the threat to deal with Ilobu about a week ago.

His words, “Around noon on Tuesday, gunmen from Ifon-Osun mostly war mercenaries, invaded Ganga, Akinpororo shooting heavily and the people ran for their lives, only courageous people stayed to defend their properties.

“We commended the security operatives most especially the police, Nigerian Army, and Civil Defence, for the timely response and they are on ground now, maintaining normalcy. We want them to remain on ground to curb further attack from Ifon people. We also appeal to the State Government to call Ifon-Osun community to desist from these unprovoked attacks so that they will not push Ilobu to war.

Osun communities land dispute turns violent, two injured