Olusegun Ariyo
Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene in the ongoing communal clashes between Ifon-Osun and Ilobu communities.
Urban Express News Online reports that the crisis, which started late on Thursday night, has resulted in significant loss of lives and properties worth millions of Naira.
In a statement released on Friday and signed by Kola Olabisi, its Director of Media and Information, the party criticised Governor Ademola Adeleke’s handling of the crisis, describing his administration as lacking the political will to end the conflict, which has occurred eight times in the last 18 months.
“The deep-seated incapability of the Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke to statecraft is manifesting again with the resurgence of the communal crisis,” he said.
According to the APC, the clashes have claimed at least 30 lives, with numerous houses, shops, and vehicles set ablaze.
The party also reported that a former councillor was among the casualties, while the wife of the Olobu of Ilobu, Olori Bola, lost her shop to the violence.
“Video footage circulating online shows residents fleeing both towns in large numbers, fearing further attacks. The lingering hostility between the two communities has thrown the entire state into pandemonium,” the statement added.
The APC alleged that key figures within Governor Adeleke’s administration have ties to criminal activities, making it difficult for the state government to restore order.
The party named individuals allegedly involved in violent activities, including a gubernatorial appointee facing murder and terrorism charges.
“How would criminals on rampage fear the government when the chief executive of the state has over the period proven he is a lover and an enabler of crime?” The statement queried.
The party further accused Adeleke of failing to address violence in other Osun communities, including Iddo-Osun, Egbedi, and Esa-Oke, where similar incidents of unrest have occurred.
“We call on the Federal Government and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to, as a matter of urgency, come to the aid of the people of the feuding communities,” he added.
Also, the Ilobu community in Osun State has issued a desperate call to President Bola Tinubu, Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, and Director of the Department of State Security Adeola Ajayi, seeking immediate intervention in what they describe as an ongoing assault by neighbouring Ifon-Osun and Erin-Osun communities.
Their appeal was contained in a statement obtained by DAILY POST and signed by Pastor Olufemi Salako, National President of the Ilobu Development Union, IDU.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the Osun State Government after an emergency meeting with security agencies and other stakeholders, reimposed a dusk to dawn curfew on Ifon and Ilobu communities of Osun State.
The curfew, which would last from 6pm to 6am daily until peace is restored to both warring communities, was announced through a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, on Friday.
It would also be recalled that following the outbreak of incessant communal clashes in the two communities, Governor Adeleke, a few weeks ago, ordered the imposition of a curfew.
