FRSC operatives flee office as Offa/Erin-Ile communal clash flares again

Violence broke out on Thursday following a clash between Offa and Erin-Ile, two neighbouring communities in the southern district of Kwara State.

The crisis, which began on Wednesday, started between road transport workers of the two communities, this newspaper gathered.

Residents ,who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES, said they heard sporadic gunshots on Thursday afternoon but could not say if there was any casualty.

Students of the Federal Polytechnic Offa, located at the boundary between the two communities, were seen fleeing in a couple of video clips obtained by PREMIUM TIMES.

“I think it is between the road transport workers of Erin-Ile. The moment we sensed the clash, we instructed students and staff to vacate the school premises. You know we are at the boundary. There are security operatives there already,” said Olayinka Iroye, the spokesperson of the school.

It was also gathered that the office of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) located at the boundary area was attacked in the clash.

The Inspector Commander in-charge of the Kwara command of FRSC, Jonathan Owoade, confirmed this to our reporter.

According to Mr Owoade, officials of the agency fled the office at the sound of gunshots.

“Most of them have left the office when they heard gunshots this afternoon. I’m still trying to locate my men,” he said.

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Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the police in the state, Ajayi Okansanmi, said officers had been deployed to restore normalcy to the areas.

“We have already dispatched police officers there to see what is going on. No information yet.”

The two communities have a history of bloody fights over land that has been intractable for more than 20 years.

In January 2013, the fight, which lasted almost four days, resulted in loss of lives and property.

A former governor of the state, Abdulfatah Ahmed, once imposed a 24-hour curfew in the two communities and also set up a-10-member judicial commission of enquiry to investigate the causes of the crisis.