Three people were reported killed, and houses and cars were destroyed, in an outbreak of violence over the selection of a new king in Agosasa, a town in Ogun State’s Ipokia Local Government Area.
Abimbola Oyeyemi, the Public Relations Officer of the Ogun State Police Command, confirmed the incident.
The incident was said to be the result of a lingering feud over who should be the town’s new monarch following the death of the town’s previous monarch about six months ago.
It was learned that the entire scenario revolved around a group of community leaders who insisted on following due process.
An indigene, who pleaded anonymity, stated that had the candidate in question obtained statutory documents, the chieftains wouldn’t have had any reasons for objection.
“What due process implies is that any candidate in seclusion should have adhered satisfactorily to the rule of law,” he said
The crisis was reportedly escalated with the death of a popular youth leader who was reportedly shot dead in the heat of the struggle to ensure the emergence of a candidate.
Though the police said one person was killed, some residents who spoke with journalists, claimed that two more persons died during the retaliation by some aggrieved youths who later razed houses and cars of prominent politicians in the community.
The police spokesman in the state stated that houses and vehicles burnt during the violence were owned by the duo of Akeem Adigun and a former council chairman Isiaka Aderounmu.
Oyeyemi said normalcy had been restored in the area while some persons were arrested for their alleged involvement in the crisis.
He cautioned the people against resorting to jungle justice in expressing their grievances and advised them to seek legal redress while relying on the approved system for resolving chieftaincy issues.
