Five persons were allegedly shot and
critically wounded while some houses were set ablaze following a
violence which erupted on Friday in Ilupeju Ekiti in Oye Local
Government Area of Ekiti State over chieftaincy tussle.
Our correspondent gathered that the
Apeju of Ilupeju, Oba Olaleye Oniyelu, was chased out of the palace
while the palace was attacked by irate youths, who were against the
choice of Mr. Israel Ojo, who the monarch had planned to install as the
Olugbosu, a traditional chieftaincy title in the town.
The title, which is said to be the third in rank to the monarch, was said to have been in contention for three years.
The Oba was said to have been ferried
away from the palace by his loyalists but he told our correspondent on
the telephone that he was in the palace as at 4:45 pm.
It was also gathered that some hoodlums set some houses ablaze as the riot raged in the town.
A resident of the town, who identified
himself as Dayo, told our correspondent that while the monarch’s choice
is Ojo, the people of the town had wanted one Mr. Aseperi, who they said
was more qualified for the title.
He said the monarch’s choice, Ojo, was
dancing to the palace for his inauguration on Friday morning when some
of the people following him started shooting.
According to him, some people were hit by the bullets and this resulted in the crisis that engulfed the town.
But another source said some hoodlums had laid in ambush for Ojo when he was on his way to the palace.
It was gathered that the intervention of the police prevented the crisis from causing more damage to lives and property.
However, the Oba denied either causing the crisis or being chased away from the palace.
The Police Public Relations Officer in
the state, Mr. Victor Babayemi, who confirmed the crisis, said 22
persons had been arrested in connection with the crisis.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everydayAdvertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com