Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke has extended that the curfew imposed on warring communities in the state 24 hours.
The governor also ordered the curfew to be extended to Erin-Osun town in Ifon-Orolu local government council area of the state.
HEADLINENEWS reports that the crisis, which started late on Thursday night, has resulted in significant loss of lives and properties worth millions of Naira.
The extension is according to a statement by the state Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, following the escalation of the crisis between warring Ilobu and Ifon.
Kolapo Alimi in the statement also disclosed that the curfew time has been increased to 24 hours daily till further notice.
Alimi also disclosed that Governor Adeleke directed all security agencies such as the Military, Nigeria Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp, NSCDC, Immigration, NDLEA, and Amotekun among others to extend its security surveillance to the community.
The statement reads, “All the security agencies are to ensure strict compliance to the curfew, which is now 24 hours daily until peace is restored.
“The imposed curfew was necessary to forestall escalation of the crisis and breakdown of law and order due to the communal clashes in the communities.”
Alimi also said the governor expressed dissatisfaction over the resurgence of the crisis in the warring communities.
“His Excellency, Governor Ademola Adeleke is saddened at the escalation of the communal clashes between Ilobu and Ifon communities.
“To ensure that the crisis is curbed in the environment, the Governor has approved that the curfew be extended to Erin-Osun community and the curfew time is now 24-hours daily, effective immediately (today March 22, 2025) until further notice.”
“Governor Adeleke has further directed that the joint security team comprising the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Police, Nigerian Immigration Service, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NDLEA and AMOTEKUN among others to continue to maintain their usual 24-hour surveillance and forestall breakdown of law and order.
“The Governor expresses his sympathy on lives and property lost in the escalated communal crisis and assures that perpetrators will face the wrath of law.
“Osun state is a place of peace and harmony, and the government will not allow it to be truncated. This communal clash has to stop now, and we will ensure that it happens.
“I urge everyone to imbibe the ethos of Omoluabi and shun communal crisis, embrace peaceful co-existence as brothers and sisters, the statement concludes.”
Meanwhile, Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene in the ongoing communal clashes between Ifon-Osun and Ilobu communities.
In a statement released on Friday and signed by Kola Olabisi, its Director of Media and Information, the party criticised Governor Ademola Adeleke’s handling of the crisis, describing his administration as lacking the political will to end the conflict, which has occurred eight times in the last 18 months.
“The deep-seated incapability of the Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke to statecraft is manifesting again with the resurgence of the communal crisis,” he said.
According to the APC, the clashes have claimed at least 30 lives, with numerous houses, shops, and vehicles set ablaze.
The party also reported that a former councillor was among the casualties, while the wife of the Olobu of Ilobu, Olori Bola, lost her shop to the violence.
“Video footage circulating online shows residents fleeing both towns in large numbers, fearing further attacks. The lingering hostility between the two communities has thrown the entire state into pandemonium,” the statement added.
The APC alleged that key figures within Governor Adeleke’s administration have ties to criminal activities, making it difficult for the state government to restore order.
The party named individuals allegedly involved in violent activities, including a gubernatorial appointee facing murder and terrorism charges.
“How would criminals on rampage fear the government when the chief executive of the state has over the period proven he is a lover and an enabler of crime?” The statement queried.
The party further accused Adeleke of failing to address violence in other Osun communities, including Iddo-Osun, Egbedi, and Esa-Oke, where similar incidents of unrest have occurred.
“We call on the Federal Government and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to, as a matter of urgency, come to the aid of the people of the feuding communities,” he added.
Also, the Ilobu community in Osun State has issued a desperate call to President Bola Tinubu, Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, and Director of the Department of State Security Adeola Ajayi, seeking immediate intervention in what they describe as an ongoing assault by neighbouring Ifon-Osun and Erin-Osun communities.
Their appeal was contained in a statement signed by Pastor Olufemi Salako, National President of the Ilobu Development Union (IDU).
