Igangan community fingers Wakil’s family as 17 killed, fuel station, others burnt
No fewer than 17 persons have been reportedly shot dead by gunmen suspected to be herdsmen at Igangan, in the Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Residents said the hoodlums invaded the town on motorcycles around 11pm on Saturday and started killing and destroying property, which continued until 3am on Sunday.
At daybreak, residents reportedly saw corpses of children and adult littered in some places in the town, while houses and vehicles, including a truck load of cassava flour, was razed by the attackers.
Some residents of Ayete, which is the headquarters of the Ibarapa North Local Government Area, said that Igangan residents sent messages to them and others in different parts of Ibarapa to help them get across to security agencies to come to their rescue.
It was gathered that the palace of the Asigangan of Igangan, Oba Lasisi Adeoye, was razed by the gunmen, but the monarch escaped because he did not sleep in the palace.
The Oyo state police command said 11 persons were killed during the attack on Sunday.
The Commissioner of Police, Ngozi Onadeko, said this in a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Adewale Osifeso.
Meanwhile, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, has described as disheartening the attack on the town.
In a statement on Sunday, he appealed to the residents of Igangan and other parts of Oyo state to be calm and allow security agencies to address the issue.
Governor Seyi Makinde, while reacting to the attack in a statement, urged the people of the area to be calm.
Makinde said, “I am currently being briefed on the incidents. I urge residents to remain calm as security operatives are now in control of the situation”.
Also, the chairman of the South-West Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ondo state, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, condemned the attack, describing it as “horrendous, callous and highly provocative”.
“While we will encourage the security agencies to get to the root of this latest act of provocation, we have directed the commanders of the South-West Security Network, Amotekun, to convoke a joint security meeting of all commanders in the South-West with a view to commencing joint operations in the region immediately.
