1 Dies As Chieftain Tussle Turns Violent In Ekiti
One person has been reportedly killed and several others injured as disagreement over a chieftaincy tussle turned violent in Igogo Ekiti in Moba local government area of Ekiti state.
Our correspondent learnt that an altercation between parties in the tussle earlier in the week and it was further gathered that the crisis suddenly took a dangerous dimension on Thursday and dragged till the early hours of Friday when one of contenders to the position of Asaba chieftaincy title was allegedly kidnapped by unknown persons.
The kidnapped contestant was said to be popular and has the support of most of the residents, but the other contestant was said to have the backing of the traditional ruler of the town, Oba Sunday Adebomi.
A resident, Sola Akande told journalists that the crisis snowballed into major violence when it became known that the town’s traditional ruler had allegedly made up his mind to forcefully impose the unpopular candidate on the people
The state crime control unit, “Operation Flush” comprising operatives of police, military and other security agents were deployed to the town to quell the situation .
It was learnt that on sighting the armed officials, the residents, rather than fleeing for safety, reportedly confronted them and even chased some of them into the bush, using all manner of dangerous weapons including charms injuring some of them in the process.
A security source said the drafted men did not want to apply maximum force on the erring residents because of an earlier appeal to them by government to thread softly and handle the crisis professionally.
As of the time of filling these reports, normalcy had begun to return to the town, soon after security men reinforced and took control of every area.
When contacted, the police Public Relations Officer, Alberto Adeyemi confirmed the clash but declined knowledge of any death.
He said a Deputy Commissioner of Police led the team of security men that eventually returned peace to the area.