The Oyo State Police Command on Tuesday said it was pursuing yet unidentified hoodlums who set ablaze Sunday Igboho’s house in Ibadan.
The house of Igboho, the man at the centre of the recent eviction controversy in Oyo State, had been razed in the early hours of Tuesday.
“At about 0620 hrs of today 26/01/2021, report was received at Santo Police Station that some unidentified hoodlums came to Sunday Igboho’s house at SOKA area of Ibadan in a Hummer bus and Micra firing sporadically, and set the house ablaze,” the police said.
“The mini sitting room got burnt in the process while amount of other properties is yet to be estimated. Mr Sunday Igboho’s house was engulfed in flames on January 26, 2021.
“Immediately the DPO Sanyo got wind of the incident, he contacted Fire service while he also went to the scene for on the spot assessment.
“The fire was eventually put out.
“Investigation has commenced into the incident while the Police is on the trail of the hoodlums.”
Mr. Igboho, an Oyo indigene, has been a prominent figure in the recent tensions between herders and the local community in the Ibarapa area of Oyo State.
He had issued a quit notice to the herders over allegations of kidnappings, killings, rape, and other violent activities.
The ultimatum expired last week and Igboho held a massive rally in the community after which some houses and properties in the herder’s settlements were torched, according to the police.
“Following the fear of threats to public peace, occasioned by the inciting pronouncement of Chief Sunday Adeyemo, A.K.A Sunday Igboho, the Oyo State Police Command jointly with the Operation Burst had embarked on visibility/confidence building patrol of the areas concerned,” the police said in a statement on Saturday.
“Sadly, the relative peace and calmness, being enjoyed, due to the visibility patrols of the Security Agencies were truncated by the visit of Sunday Igboho to Igangan, at about 16:30hrs [4:30 pm] on 22nd January 2021.
“The visit had culminated in a mob action by some youths in the town, who, armed with different types of weapons, embarked on arson and a breach of peace. In the process, grievous hurt was committed against one of the police officers, while discharging his statutory duties.”
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