The Osun State Government has announced a 24-hour curfew on three communities in the state due to the violence there.
The violence between residents of Ifon and Ilobu communities has spread to Erin-Osun community, the state’s information commissioner, Kolapo Alimi, wrote in a statement.
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A 24-hour curfew has now been imposed on the three communities and Governor Ademola Adeleke has charged security agencies in the state to implement the curfew.
In a separate statement by the governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, Mr Adeleke threatened to depose any traditional ruler not committed to restoring peace in the communities.
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Read the two statements from the Osun officials below.
Following the escalation of the crisis between the warring communities of Ilobu and Ifon, Osun State Governor Senator Ademola Adeleke has approved that the curfew be extended to Erin-Osun town.
The curfew time is now 24 hours daily.
The governor also directed all security agencies, such as the military, Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp NSCDC, Immigration, NDLEA, and AMOTEKUN to extend their security surveillance to the community.
All the security agencies are to ensure strict compliance with 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.
According to the statement by Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, where Governor Adeleke was quoted as expressing dissatisfaction over the resurgence of the crisis in the warring communities, the curfew on Ifon-Ilobu Communities has now been extended to the Erin-Osun community until further notice.
“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 Force, 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.
Kolapo Alimi,
Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment.
Ifon/Ilobu/Erin Osun: Governor Adeleke, Security Chiefs Adopt Tough Measures
OSOGBO – 22/03/2025 – Osunstate.gov.ng
Governor Ademola Adeleke and service commanders of the various security agencies in Osun have adopted stringent measures and operational plans to restore peace in Ifon-Ilobu-Erin Osun communities and permanently stop the recurrence of the communal feud.
The meeting witnessed a separate closed door meeting with traditional rulers and chiefs from the affected communities with stern warnings to embrace peace or face the full wrath of the law.
Various service commanders at the meeting discussed the presentations by the state governor and adopted several peace measures which are already being implemented.
Mr Adeleke had earlier called for decisive action to permanently resolve the conflict and proceeded to issue directives to the commanders for immediate action.
Part of the directives include immediate deployment of the joint task force with all necessary logistics for operational results, summoning of key ring leaders in the affected towns for interrogation and signing of peace undertaking, arrests and immediate prosecution of perpetrators of the violence, invoking of cyber crime act to nab those spreading old videos to cause more violence.
The governor further threatened to suspend the traditional rulers of the affected towns if violence should resurface while those who sign peace undertakings will face the law if communal confrontation reoccur.
He also used the opportunity to alert the security agencies of what he termed “other security threats” in the state arising from opposition destabilisation plots namely, plans to ignite conflicts across motor parks in the state; sponsoring of fake local government workers group; and hoodlum protest in the guise of teachers’ applicants protest among others.
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While commending the security agencies for their patriotic service to the state, Mr Adeleke urged them to act on all the resolutions reached as he pledges the administration’s support for all peace moves by the service commanders.
The service commanders at the meeting pledged to implement the security measures agreed to at the meeting and assured the government and the people of the affected communities of imminent restoration and sustenance of peace in the areas.
In attendance were service commanders from the Nigerian Army, the police, the State Security Service, the Civil Defence Corps, the Immigration service, the Amotekun Security Service among others.
Signed
Olawale Rasheed,
Spokesperson to the State Governor.
