Stephne Olufemi Oni/Ilorin
A bloody clash precipitated by the Bororos in Oro-Ago in Ifelodun local government area of Kwara State results in two deaths
The long-standing quiet and peaceful serenity of Oro-Ago community in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara state was on Monday 13 April shattered following a bloody clash between the indigenes and the nomadic Fulani settlers in the area popularly known as Bororos. In the wake of the crisis, two lives of an indigene and a Bororo were lost, while property worth millions of Naira were also vandalised.
The unfortunate incident, TheNEWS gathered, was perpetrated by the Bororo settlers who defied the earlier and firm instruction by the Oloro of Oro-Ago, Oba Johnson Olanrewaju Dada, in conjunction with his chiefs that no one is allowed to carry along with him or her weapons to the market on any of the market days in the community. The decision was taken after a bloody clash had earlier occurred among the Bororos in the market square on a market day during which they wounded themselves.
When the Bororos who carried weapons along with them to the market on this particular market day were challenged on why they had to flout the monarch’s order, it was gathered that rather than explain or being apologetic, they threw caution to the wind, initiated mayhem and hacked some indigenes with machetes. Those injured, were Wale Inawole, Seun Awoyemi, Ismaila Asunmo and Sunday Babarinde.
Addressing journalists in Ilorin on Thursday 30 April, the President, Oro-Ago Development Union, ODU, Chief Richard Olaniyi Olushola, lamented that in the ensuing melee, an indigene, Shogo Babarinde, was gunned down while trying to rescue his younger brother, Sunday Babarinde, who was one of those reportedly injured by the Bororos.
He said: “The degenerated criminal acts led to a complete breakdown of law and order with vehicles, motocycles and houses belonging to indigenes set ablaze.
“All the above criminal acts of these Bororos were brought to the notice of the law enforcement agents by our monarch, Oba Johnson Olanrewaju Dada. Those notified included the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, in Omu-Aran, Special Adviser to the Executive Governor of Kwara State on Security and the Commissioner of Police, Kwara state.”
What was strange about the action of the police in the tragic incident, Olushola lamented, was that while none of the Bororos who allegedly perpetrated the crisis was arrested, the indigenes who were trying to defend their community from the Bororo assailants had ironically become victims of police intimidation, harassment, arrest, detention and torture.
He said three police officers led by Mr. Sunday Umar came from Abuja, although this fact was not disclosed, and met with the town’s monarch, requesting to meet with some named indigenes on the pretext that they came for an amicable resolution of the crisis. Based on trust, he said the men were produced but, surprisingly,they were whisked away to Abuja on Thursday 23 April, lamenting that till the time of holding the press briefing their whereabouts remained unknown. The names of the indigenes whisked away are Chief Omotayo Abidogun, Ganiyu Ibrahim, Dauda Ibrahim, Chief Sunday Odeyemi, Chief Ajibola Adeoti and Mohammed Ologemo alias Anisere.
“Meanwhile, the leader of the Bororo perpetrators of the ugly incident, Sarkin, through their umbrella body (Miyetti Allah Association), had boasted that they have the Nigeria Police Force at their disposal as well as a backing and furthermore that the immediate past Inspector General of Police (Abba) is their own son,” Olushola lamented.
Describing the action of Sunday Umar and his colleagues who came from Abuja and whisked the six indigenes away to Abuja as provocative and not in the interest of peace, particularly that none of the Bororo perpetrators was arrested, the O.D.U. President reiterated that the one-sided action of the police in this case further confirmed that the Miyetti Allah Association would stop at nothing to ensure that they employ all connections within the Nigeria Police Force against Oro-Ago community.
He said: “The above Scenario leaves much to be desired as it has created the impression that the Bororo settlers in Oro-Ago have godfathers in Abuja ready to stop at nothing to impose the Bororo perpetrators on Oro-Ago community at whatever cost. Needless to say that this attempt will be vehemently resisted.”
This unsavoury development, he said, prompted the community to petition the Director General, Department of State Service, Abuja to urgently intervene and help secure immediate release of the six unjustly detained by the police in Abuja. The community also called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the 80 Bororos contained in the petition for allegedly perpetrating the dastardly act to serve as a deterrent to others of their ilk.
Olushola, who said the community would not welcome the Bororos back, reeled out some of the nefarious acts of the Bororos in the area, to include constant encroachment on indigenes’ farmlands, armed robbery and rape, adding that the community has had to bear with their excesses for the sake of peace in times past.
The situation is now calm in the community and business activities which were paralyzed for a few days have started to pick up with the detachment of police drafted to the area keeping vigil to forestall further breakdown of law and order.