Soldiers, Police, Amotekun intervene in Ekiti-Kwara border conflict

Ekiti State Commissioner for Information, Taiwo Olatunbosun, announced on Sunday that soldiers, police, and Amotekun Corps operatives have been deployed to address the dispute between Eda Oniyo in Ekiti State and neighbouring Obbo Ayegunle in Kwara State over land ownership.

Olatunbosun stated, “Available information indicates that the boundary dispute between Eda Oniyo Ekiti and Obbo Ayegunle in Kwara State escalated when armed men from Obbo Ayegunle attacked Eda Oniyo on Saturday.”

He added, “One person from the community (Eda Oniyo in Ilejemeje Local Government Area) was reportedly killed in the fracas,” in a statement released in Ado Ekiti on Sunday.

Olatunbosun, who appealed to residents of Eda Oniyo to remain calm over the attack on the community, said, “soldiers, police, and members of the Amotekun Corps had moved to the scene immediately to curtail the crisis”, adding, that the situation had been brought under control.

He added, “Additional troops had already moved to the area to protect the community while the Army formation in Kwara State has been contacted to deploy troops along Kwara side of the border to curtail further attack from both sides”.

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The commissioner, who expressed condolences to the family of the deceased and prayed for the quick recovery of those affected by the incident, reiterated Ekiti State Government’s commitment to fostering peace and security across the State.

He stressed the need for calm while the security agencies took charge of the situation, assuring that the perpetrators and their accomplices would be fished out and brought to justice.

Relating how the Saturday attack took place, the Eleda, Oba Julius Awolola, said, “The Obbo people came armed into our town. They could not attack the Secretariat because some policemen were there.

“They came into the town to attack us. They vandalized the windows of two no fewer than buildings and they killed one of our men in the process. It was when they were resisted by our people that they retreated to Obbo Ayegunle.

“The land in contention belongs to us. We have documents that confirm that it belongs to Eda Oniyo,” Oba Awolola said.

The traditional ruler said that the army, police, and state government representatives were in Eda Oniyo on Sunday on the matter urging them to remain calm.

In his reaction, the Police Public Relations Officer, Sunday Abutu, said security agents had already moved into the area to ensure peace, order, and security.

It was reported that the neighbouring Ekiti and Kwara communities have been laying claim to the ownership of the disputed land in the boundary area hence hostilities between the two towns.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE