Communal clash: One killed, 7 arrested in Kwara

ONE person has been reportedly killed and several persons injured in a communal clash between people of Odo Owa and Kajola communities in the Oke Ero local government area of Kwara State.

This is just as the state police command said that seven persons have been arrested in connection with the crisis.

Tribune Online gathered that violence erupted between the communities on Sunday following disagreements during a masquerade festival in the area.

It was also gathered that the two-week long annual masquerade festival began on March 31.

The police public relations officer (PPRO), Ajayi Okasanmi, who confirmed the development, said that the situation had been put under control with the dispatch of mobile policemen from Offa and Omu-Aran to the affected communities.

Okasanmi said that investigation to unravel the remote cause of the crisis had already commenced.

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According to him, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, had directed that anybody found culpable in the crisis should be arrested and prosecuted.

Also, speaking on the crisis, a traditional ruler, the Olota of Odo-Owa, Oba Joshua Adimula, described the development as barbaric and unwarranted.

“The Olota-in-Council immediately swung into action to ensure that the situation did not escalate.

“I personally made contacts with both the local and state governments. We are very grateful to them, especially the governor, for the timely response,” he said.

The traditional ruler was worried that tension still hung in the air.

“I am urging the government to include the military to support the police,” he said.

Adimula advised the people of the affected communities, especially the youth to embrace peace and shun acts capable of causing the crisis.

“No development can take place in an atmosphere of acrimony and no investor will invest in a crisis-ridden environment.

“I am pleading with the aggrieved parties to sheath their swords and give due respect to our forefathers who laid the foundation upon which we are enjoying today,” he said.

It was gathered that men of the Mobile Police Unit and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were seen patrolling the communities on Tuesday to forestall the escalation of the crisis.

Economic activities which became grounded since the crisis started on Sunday, had been resuscitated, as some of the residents who left the area to a more secure place were returning to their various homes.