… As 9 hospitalised in Ekiti after inhaling smoke from dump site***
The renewed clash between rival cult groups in some areas at Ilesa, Osun State, has reportedly left 10 people dead.
The newsmen learned that blood flowed as rival suspected cultists clashed at Brewery, Ifofin, Idasa and Irojo areas of the town on Monday and extended to Tuesday, leaving behind dead bodies.
Mr Busuyi Agunbiade, a resident of the area, told newsmen that the clash started from Irojo, around 7 p.m. before it spread to other communities where the cultists had strongholds.
“Some guys on a motorcycle suddenly started shooting around Irojo inflicting injury on residents in the area, who scamper for safety.
“Then, in what looks like a revenge attack, another set confronted them and both groups engaged in a shootout.
“Other cultists from other hideouts joined in the fracas thereby spreading the crisis to other parts of the town.
”About 10 people were killed in different areas of the town, majorly cult members,” he said.
Agunbiade said that shop owners quickly locked their shops, while residents also ran for safety, thereby deserting the major streets in the town.
Newsmen recall that a man was killed by some people suspected to be cultists at Atakumosa East Local Government on Feb. 19 last during the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election in the state.
There have been pockets of cult attacks in the ancient town for some time now, and the situation has been a major source of concern for the residents.
Reacting to the suspected cultists clash that claimed lives, the Owa Obokun of Ijesa land, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran, condemned cult group killing in Ijesaland.
Aromolaran described the recent killings as disturbing and unacceptable and called on security agencies to be alive to their responsibilities.
He appealed to traditional rulers, chiefs and politicians to support law enforcement agencies’ efforts at restoring peace in the land.
Aromolaran also warned that behaviours that were inimical to the rich culture of his domain would not be condoned.
Osun Police Command Spokesperson, SP Yemisi Opalola, who confirmed the killings, however, said only five persons were killed in the cult war.
“More special police units have been deployed to the hotspots to curb breakdown of law and order,” she said.
Also contacted, state Spokesperson for Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Olabisi Atanda, said security operatives were on top of the situation and that peace had returned to the affected areas.
In the meantime, no fewer than nine residents of Ilokun Government Reservation Area, within the vicinity of Progress FM in Ado-Ekiti, have been hospitalised after inhaling thick smoke emanating from a dump site located in the area.
The newsmen report that the victims, including children, were rushed to a nearby hospital after inhaling the thick smoke from the dump site, which was set on fire.
Newsmen report that heavy smoke generated from the burning of the dump site was said to have enveloped the whole community few minutes after it was set ablaze, which invariably affected the health of inhabitants.
Meanwhile, some members of the community have protested the location of the dump site in the community and called for its relocation.
Confirming the incident, Mrs Olayinka Ajayi, the Treasurer of, Landlord Association in the community, told the newsmen that she was one of the victims.
Ajayi claimed she was rushed to the hospital, adding that she was restored to life with an inhaler when she could not breathe properly after inhaling the smoke.
She said the best option was to relocate the dump site from the community.
According to her, it has subjected residents of the community to various health hazards.
In his reactions, Mr Bayo Keleku, the Sole Administration, Ekiti State Waste Management Authority, said that the state government was trying its best to manage the dump site in a way that it won’t pose threat to the health of residents.
Keleku said the site was set ablaze by suspected bystanders and not the workers of the agency as being speculated.
