Over 100 suspected Fulani herdsmen reportedly attacked Owode-Ketu and Ijoun villages in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State, killing two people in the process.
Report gathered that the victims: Isiaka Apesin and Oguntosin Adebayo were allegedly killed in an ambush by the killer-herdsmen who attacked the villages around 5am on Friday.
The assailants were said to have stormed Owode-Ketu and Ijoun communities shooting sporadically.
The incident forced early closure of schools, hospitals and other businesses as villagers scampered for safety.
The Baale of Owode-Ketu, Rev. Sanya Fabuyi who confirmed the incident to newsmen, disclosed that the herdsmen came with sophisticated weapons.
Fabuyi said the villagers were helpless as the herdsmen shot sporadically causing panic around the area.
He said, “We are being attacked, we need help, the police should please come to our rescue. The herdsmen came with sophisticated weapons and shot sporadically”.
Also the youth leader of the community, Mr Sina Olaleye confirmed that the herdsmen who were putting on bulletproof vests immediately moved into the forest after the attack.
He said, “The herdsmen were more than one hundred and some of them were putting on bulletproof vests. They (herdsmen) are still in the forest now and the police are here combing the forest.
“All schools and businesses have been shutdown and our people are indoor for fear of being attacked.”
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Command, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi confirmed the incident, but said the police could not ascertain whether the attackers were Fulani herdsmen.
The PPRO said, two people were killed, but no arrest had been made so far.
He disclosed that a joint security team comprising the police, local hunters, youths and men of the local vigilance group were currently on the trail of the assailants.
In his words: “We are combing the push right now. All the Area Commanders of the police divisions, all the Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) in that area, the hunters and the youths of all the communities (Eggua, Igbogila, Sawonjo and others), hunters and men of the local vigilance group have joined the police to comb the forest.
“The Area Commander of Ayetoro division is leading the onslaught. We are still in the bush now combing for those people.”
