Over 20 people have been killed in communal and cults clashes in some parts of Ondo State in the last one month, Thefrontrank reports.
The spate of killings have painted a grim picture of the security situation and underscored the alarming insecurity gripping the state.
The staggering data revealed that on January 6, 2025, violence erupted in Owo, the headquarters of Owo Local Government area, leaving five people dead in a bloody clash between suspected rival cult groups.
Among the victims are Fisayo Oladipupo, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and also a mother and her child.
Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, consequently, imposed a dawn-to-dusk curfew in the town following violent cult clashes and security disturbances.
Subsequently, within two weeks, no fewer than four people were reportedly killed in separate attacks by members of another confraternity group in retaliation for the murder of their members on January 6, 2025.
This is despite a 7.00 pm to 6.00 am curfew imposed on the townby the state government.
Another communal clash on January 14, between the Owake and Ebo communities in Akoko South West Local Government area of the state, led to the death of two people.
In the attack, a house belonging to Omorinbola Francis was set ablaze, while several injured residents were rushed to the newly-inaugurated Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Iwaro-Oka for treatment.
A source, who preferred anonymity, revealed that the Palace of the Asin of Oka-Odo and an event hall were also destroyed during the clash.
Few days after the killing of two people in Akoko area in communal clash, another five persons were murdered on Friday, January 17, in a communal clash at a boundary community linking Akure and Idanre.
It was gathered that the indigenes of the two communities had long been laying claim to a disputed territory identified as Gbalegi.
Thefrontrank learned that armed thugs in large numbers, invaded the Gbalegi community, attacked residents, and killed the victims who tried to resist the attack.
After the deadly clash, the bodies of those killed were taken to a police station in the area before being transferred to a mortuary in Akure.
Again, on January 30, 2025, five farmers were reportedly killed by armed men suspected to be herdsmen at Ajegunle Powerline community in Akure North Local Government area of the state.
The victims were said to be labourers from Plateau and Kaduna States working on the farmlands.
An eyewitness account narrated that the attack occurred at about 3:00 pm, adding that the herdsmen engaged in destroying their crops and disrupting their source of livelihood in the community.
The source, who is also a farmer, said that the attacks had become a daily occurrence, with many farmers fleeing their farms for the fear of being killed.
According to some residents, it is becoming clear that the present administration in the state has no plan to combat the rising insecurity, while the plans put in place by late Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu have been left to fall woefully.
The residents are demanding for a radical overhaul of the security architecture and a renewed commitment to safeguarding the lives and property beyond the smokescreen and media stunt parade by the Amotekun Corps.
Adee Ofoor, a resident, told Thefrontrank that many indigenes could no longer visit their hometowns and relatives because of the worsening insecurity in the state from last year.
He appealed to the state government and all security agencies to, as a matter of urgency, come to the aid of the people by finding a lasting solution to the menace.
