Osun State Governor Imposes Curfew After Communal Clash Kills 2

Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke on Tuesday imposed a curfew with immediate effect after a clash between Ilobu and Ifon communities claimed the lives of two people and caused property damage.

The governor announced his decision in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, on Tuesday. This came after a fight broke out between militias from Ilobu and Ifon communities at the Osun and Oyo States border on Monday.

The curfew has been imposed from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Adeleke also raised a joint task force and deployed security agents to maintain peace in the communities.

"Premised on the review of the security situation, His Excellency Senator Ademola Adeleke, in his capacity as the Chief Security Officer of the state, has approved that the 6 pm to 6 am curfew be imposed with immediate effect," as per the statement, Punch reported.

"The Osun State government should set up a joint task force of all stakeholders in the warring communities, which should include traditional chiefs of Ifon, Ilobu, and Erin Osun with immediate effect," it added.

The statement also mentioned that the state government officials and all security chiefs will have a high-power stakeholder meeting with all traditional chiefs and rulers.

According to the Osun Police Command, two people have been arrested so far in connection with the communal clashes between the two communities.

Osun Police Command's spokesperson Yemisi Opalola confirmed that two people lost their lives in the incident and their corpses were deposited in the mortuary at the UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital.

"Meanwhile one Mojeed Oyewumi Alani 'M' and one other who were arrested with weapons and criminal charms by police operatives for their role in the communal clash have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for discreet investigation," Opalola said.

This is not the first time when Adeleke has imposed a curfew in the state. In October last year, the governor had to impose a curfew following a fight between the two communities.

This incident comes just one day after a coalition of 48 civil society organizations (CSOs) in Nigeria urged President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency due to rising insecurity in the country.