The Erin-Osun Progressive Union (EPU) has decried the massive destruction caused by the ongoing communal clash involving Ilobu, Ifon-Osun, and Erin-Osun, stating that properties worth billions of naira have been lost.
In a statement issued in Osogbo on Monday, Chief Kayode Olawale, National President of EPU, lamented that several homes in disputed border areas were burned down while vehicles and motorcycles were vandalized, leaving thousands of residents displaced.
“Thousands of our people are now homeless, struggling to survive. We, therefore, call on the government, through NEMA and the State Emergency Management Agencies, to urgently assist our community,” Olawale appealed.
The EPU also urged the Osun State Government to take stronger action to prevent further bloodshed.
“While we appreciate the government’s initial response, we demand more decisive measures to curb this crisis. Expansionist ambitions have blinded our attackers to the devastating consequences of their actions, resulting in loss of lives and destruction of properties in Erin-Osun,” the statement read.
The union accused Ilobu residents and armed militants of launching a deliberate attack on Erin-Osun on Friday night, setting houses ablaze and forcing many to flee.
“Despite our town’s neutrality in the renewed Ilobu-Ifon crisis, Ilobu attackers stormed our community, destroying homes and properties. Security forces were later deployed, but their intervention was slow, allowing the destruction to continue,” Olawale said.
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He further alleged that soldiers deployed to restore order acted with bias, intimidating Erin-Osun residents while giving Ilobu attackers free rein.
“One of our people was shot at close range by a soldier who was supposed to protect us,” he claimed.
Meanwhile, the Ilobu Asake Development Union, in a counter-statement by its National President, Pastor Olufemi Salako, accused Ifon-Osun and Erin-Osun of launching a coordinated attack on Ilobu with backing from a high-ranking government official.
“This is the eighth time our innocent people have suffered such violent attacks, despite Ilobu’s contributions to national peace. We produced the late Chief of Army Staff, General Taoreed Lagbaja, who died under mysterious circumstances, yet rather than protecting his kinsmen, Ilobu continues to burn,” Salako stated.
With rising tensions and increasing casualties, both sides are calling for urgent government intervention to prevent further destruction and restore lasting peace.
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