One feared dead in Ekiti chieftaincy title crisis

One person is feared dead in a chieftaincy crisis that erupted in Igogo-Ekiti on Thursday, while several other persons reportedly sustained varying degrees of injuries.

The crisis, which started like a mere disagreement between parties on Monday, was said to have taken a dangerous turn on Thursday and dragged on till the early hours of Friday .

Trouble allegedly began when news filtered into town that one of the persons contesting the Asaba chieftaincy title had allegedly been kidnapped by unknown persons.

A resident, Sola Akande, said the crisis snowballed into major violence on Thursday, before soldiers and men of the Nigeria Police mobile force attached to the state crime control unit, code-named “Operation Flush,” were drafted in to bring the situation under control.

It was learnt that on sighting the armed policemen, the residents, rather than fleeing for cover, reportedly confronted them and even chased some of them into the bush, using dangerous items, including charms. Some of the policemen were reportedly wounded in the process.

A security source said the drafted men did not want to apply maximum force on the erring residents because of an earlier appeal to them by government to thread softly and handle the crisis professionally.

As of the time of filing this report, normalcy had begun to return to the town.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Alberto Adeyemi, confirmed the clash, but denied knowledge of any death.

He said a Deputy Commissioner of Police led the team of security men that eventually returned peace to the area.