The Aribiyan II of Igangan, Oba Abdulazeez Adeoye, on Saturday, said that the visit by the popular socio-cultural activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, was free from violence.
The monarch stated this against the reports that the activist and his men touch the residence of Seriki Fulani in the area, Salihu Abdukadir.
This is coming after the Oyo State Government disclosed that a delegation including the Commissioner of Police in the state, Ngozi Onadeko, would carry-out an on-the-spot assessment of Igangan community.
Adeoye said this on Saturday during an interview with journalists, he said, “The people of Igangan rose against the incursion of killer herdsmen in our community considering our experiences over the years. It has been incidents of killing, maiming, kidnapping for money and raping. It has got to an unbearable level so we asked that they should excuse us.
“As we speak, the three Kara cattle markets in my domain have been shut down. Majority of them engage in illicit acts. Strangers infiltrated our midst to kidnap our people for money. They raped our women and also destroyed our farmlands with cattle. We have asked the herdsmen to leave our midst because they don’t have an iota of respect for human lives. They killed our people; they stole and drove our farmers from the farm.”
Concerning the visit of Sunday Igboho to Igangan on Friday, the traditional ruler said, “Sunday Igboho and his men came to the town. The youths welcomed them and he addressed them using words of assurance but he never caused trouble and did not attack anybody. I did not know or hear of it (destruction of Seriki Fulani’s property) until Saturday morning. We can’t tell the particular person who did it.
“As of now (Saturday), I have not got the details of how it happened but I can tell you that it was not Igboho and his people because there was no such incident during his visit. We implore the government and the security agents to come to our aid. We cannot secure ourselves against the bandits, so we call for tighter security of our community. We should not be abandoned to our fate. The killer herders are out of control. Rather than seek Igboho’s arrest they should dialogue to know what went wrong, what my people are facing and consider possible solutions.”
In relation, the Chief Press Secretary to the Oyo State Governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, said that the new Commissioner of Police in the state, Ngozi Onadeko, would lead the police delegation.
He said, “They are to engage youths and calm frayed nerves. It is not clear as of press time who will lead the government team, but sources said that Governor Seyi Makinde has constituted a high-powered delegation among his senior officials to embark on this trip. A full report of the Ibarapa situation will be made public by the government and the police after the assessment tour. Sources said that the team on the government side has been mandated to dissuade the stakeholders from unduly politicizing the situation at hand or fueling ethnic tension.”
