One person has been reportedly killed while ten
others allegedly sustained varying degrees of injuries during the fierce clash
that ensued between Moro and Yakoyo communities in Ife North Local Government Area
over boundary lines.
The former Chief of Army Staff, General Alani
Akinrinade (rtd), was alleged to have instigated the violence.
The middle-aged man, Olufemi Folorunso, was
allegedly killed around 10.30p.m. by the youths of Yakoyo last Sunday.
When journalists
visited the two communities last Monday evening, there was tension in
the area. However, the police were seeing in some strategic places to maintain
peace and order.
At the palace of Olumoro of Moro, Oba Abidoye
Oyeniyi, the residents, mainly youths, gathered to express their anger.
An illustrious son of Yakoyo, Akinrinade, it was
learnt, came to the palace to appease
the people of the neighboring Moro community.
The two communities have been at loggerhead over boundary
matter, which has resulted in incessant fracas that have claimed many lives and
property.
Meanwhile, Akinrinade has been fingered as the
brain behind the latest crisis which
started since last week.
The National President of Moro Progressive Union, Femi
Ogundele, at a press conference last Monday alleged that the skirmish started
when some people identified to be Akinrinade's aides were seen cleaning the
name of the town from signboards erected on Moro's land.
He said when the people were challenged, they
claimed to have been acting on the directive of the retired army general.
According to him, Akinrinade later surfaced and
admitted to have instructed the people to carry out the assignment.
"When he was confronted, he claimed that since
he had paid for those portions of land he is presently occupying, he has the
right to change the name of the area despite falling within our community.
"He is from Yakoyo; we sold the portion of
land he is presently occupying to him and we have evidence of payment with
legally backed agreement.
"We later settled it with the intervention of
our royal father and his elder brother, who facilitated a peace meeting.
"But to our utter dismay, few hours after the
truce, we started hearing gunshots and before we realised what was happening, a
young man had been shot dead.
"As if that was not enough, the assailants
came to our palace again around 10p.m. and started shooting sporadically. They
eventually succeeded in breaking the palace's gate and vandalised many cars
parked within the premises.
"The state Commissioner of Police has to come to
the scene with her men before the situation could be brought under control, it
was really a nightmare for our community," Ogundele said.
He therefore appealed to security agencies to beef
up security around the town to prevent further breakdown of law and order.
Akinrinade, in his reaction, simply dismissed the
crisis as a consequence of youth exuberance and excesses of young people who
are largely idle.
According to him, "Beyond nomenclature, Yakoyo
and Moro are communities of the same origin going by their historical
background.
"The crisis started as just a small
misunderstanding about where the boundaries lie, whether your house or mine is
in Moro or Yakoyo.
"You know, the modern system where people
start drawing lines and putting signboards are alien to communal cohesion, that
is modern.
"To me, the crisis was absolutely unnecessary
to have even resulted in altercation not to talk of going to the extent of
fighting one another.
"Unfortunately, when you have a community with
so many young people that are not busy, this is the kind of thing you
experience."
Also speaking, the Baale Aiyedade of Ojigidiri,
Chief Busade Adebagbo, said the incident
is not necessary following the meeting preceding the renaming of signposts in
the town.
He said the land in question belongs to Moro and was
sold to Akinrinade, and they have all the necessary documents to prove the
ownership of the land.
He urged the people of Moro to remain calm and not retaliate
over their land.
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