Policeman, two others killed as Iwo, Ile Ogbo communities clash over land in Osun

No fewer than three persons including a policeman were killed in a clash that involved Iwo and Ile Ogbo communities in Osun State over the ownership of a piece of land located at Asalu, Oke Saji, the boundary of the two towns.

The clash, which started in the afternoon of Friday, was also said to have made some of the community members sustain bullet wounds and machete cuts.

A police constable, Akinsanya Akingbade, attached to the traditional ruler of Ile Ogbo was reportedly shot in the chest with a locally-made pistol by a member of the Ile Ogbo community.

The Osun State police command spokesperson, Mrs Yemisi Opalola, who confirmed the incident, added that the policeman died on the way to the hospital and that his body had been deposited at the Osun State University Teaching Hospital.

Opalola said that the gun used by the Ile Ogbo community member who is a vigilante and also a palace guard had been recovered from him and the suspect had been arrested for interrogation.

It was also gathered that two people were also killed during the clash.

Investigations however revealed that the two communities had been laying claims to the land for many years and have insisted that the land belonged to their forefathers.

Meanwhile, the traditional rulers of the communities, the Olu of Ile Ogbo, Oba Abeeb Adetoyese Agbaje and the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi, were invited to a meeting by the Deputy Governor of the state, Mr Benedict Alabi, to resolve the matter.

Also at the meeting was the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Olawale Olokode, who was said to have pleaded with the traditional rulers to prevail over their subjects to allow peace to reign in the two communities.