Hoodlums, on Thursday, invaded the palace of Oloto of Oto Awori Kingdom, Oba Josiah Aina, allegedly attacked guests and disrupted the celebration of his 15th year coronation anniversary, a situation that led to the death of a yet-to-be-identified person.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the celebration was ongoing when the hoodlums, who were armed with weapons, stormed the community, attacked and robbed residents of their valuables.
The hoodlums were said to have taken advantage of the tension created during the attack to invade the palace where the celebration was taking place.
During the invasion, the hoodlums reportedly attacked the monarch’s guests; vandalised property including vehicles, and burnt some shops within the vicinity.
It was learnt that most guests scampered to safety, some others, who were unlucky, sustained varying degrees of injury and were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment.
During a visit to the scene, our correspondent saw debris of broken bottles on the road leading to the monarch’s palace which had been scattered as a result of the invasion.
A combined team of military and police operatives was also sighted in the area.
A resident who gave his name only as Sunday, for security reasons, said nobody expected the invasion, adding that the hoodlums burgled and looted shops in the community.
He said, “We didn’t know how the whole situation escalated to this extent. I was here till 11pm on Wednesday and there was no sign of a possible attack. It was this morning that they came with different weapons.
“They started by looting people’s shops and destroying their goods. You can see the whole roads littered with broken bottles. They also forced their way into peoples’ houses and destroyed their properties.”
Another resident, Wasiu Alao, alleged that the hoodlums responsible for the invasion were from the Ijanikin community, adding that the Ijanikin and Oto Awori communities were at peace, “but I don’t know why they chose to invade the community.”
The Baale Ogbetedo of Oto Awori, Obanla Adesina, said when they got the information about the impending attack, relevant security agents were informed, and an appeal was made to prevent any form of mayhem.
Adesina said, “I called the council chairman to intervene over the incident and he promised to call for a security stakeholder meeting. But to our surprise, boys from the Ijanikin community suddenly invaded the ongoing ceremony.
“They attacked around 8.30am with cutlasses, bottles and guns. There were more than 400 boys. When they entered the palace, some vehicles were vandalised and the guests had to run for their lives. So that led to the invitation of the police. Some of our boys were also shot and stabbed.”
The Balogun of the kingdom, Rufus Ifatosin, said the attack was planned, adding that the hoodlums disrupted the coronation anniversary despite Aina giving them money.
“The boys from the Ijanikin community came with masquerade on Sunday to request for money and our Kabiyesi gave them N200,000, but they started fighting over it on their way out.
“They kept fighting since then. But what happened this morning came as a surprise to us. They almost wounded our Kabiyesi when they invaded the palace.”
However, Aina, during a conversation with our correspondent, said steps had been made to settle the differences between the two communities, adding despite the measures in place, the hoodlums from the neighbouring community attacked his palace.
“This morning, I called the council chairman to report what I heard from the community and he said the boys were from Agbara and not from the Ijanikin community.
“But at the end of the day, I discovered that the boys that invaded my palace were from Ijanikin. I know them and I know their family,” Aina said.
During a visit to the Femola Hospital, where some of the injured victims were admitted, no fewer than nine persons were seen with varying degrees of injury.
Contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said one person was killed during the invasion, adding that policemen had restored normalcy in the community.
He said, ‘’There was a clash between some communities and the police were there to quell the unrest. There was a shooting and I can confirm that one person died. We are still investigating the extent of damage, as well as the entire scenario.”
