Communal Clash Claims 2 Lives In Kwara
Olaiya who confirmed the development at a press conference in Ilorin on Friday said,”The crisis is between the communities that are sandwiched between two major communities of Lafiaji and Gbugbu, they are suddenly at two others throat . The police intervened but unfortunately, two lives were lost and two suspects have been arrested.”
He also said that thirteen suspected criminals have been arrested in various parts of the state while arms and ammunition were recovered.
Parading the suspects, Mr V Olaiya said the command has also recovered criminals’ charms and armour cable from the suspects.
Mr Olaiya explained that eight of the suspects were arrested over alleged cultism, while the remaining five were apprehended for the case of kidnapping.
The Police Commissioner also said that the command will ensure all the suspects are thoroughly investigated and charged to court by the provisions of the law.
The Commissioner noted that the cases at hand highlighted the serious challenges being faced and the significant progress made to apprehend the criminals.
He maintained that officers and men of the command would continue to discharge their duties in line with international best practices.
Mr Olaiya said the command would remain committed to the maintenance of law and order at all times.
He appealed to the general public to support the command with information to enable it to discharge it’s duties as expected.
Meanwhile, we reliably gathered that a long-standing land dispute between the Ndeji and Lema communities in Lafiagi, the Northern part of the state, escalated into a violent clash, resulting in the killings while people were injured.
According to eyewitnesses, the crisis began when the Chief Imam of Ndeji was attacked while returning from his farm, causing his hands to swell. This incident sparked outrage among the youths of Ndeji, who sought reprisal without arms.
However, the situation took a deadly turn when a fight broke out, and the Lema community opened fire on the Ndeji youths, resulting in two deaths while seven others were severely injured.
It was also gathered that the root cause of the crisis is a decades-long land dispute, which has been undergoing reconciliation efforts by the past and present Emir of Lafiagi, but a conclusion has yet to be reached.
It was further gathered that in the aftermath of the violence, five victims from Ndeji were referred to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) for treatment of gunshot wounds.
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