Stray bullets kill two as land grabbers, police engage in free for all in Ogun

Kunle Idowu, Abeokuta

Ikogbo community  in the Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun state was on Wednesday thrown into confusion as two persons were killed by stray bullets.

The gory incident occurred when some suspected land grabbers engaged a police man in a scuffle as the two side tried to take possession of a gun.

Two others were wounded and later hospitalised.

Findings showed that an attempt to enforce a court judgement on a disputed land between Ikogbo and Imose communities snowballed into a free for all, as the court had ruled in favour of Ikogbo community.

The pandemonium centred on the Onikogbo of Ikogbo, Oba Nurudeen Osoja who sources, revealed invited some policemen to enforce the court judgement after he had allegedly sealed houses on the disputed land .

Occupants of the said land were said to have resisted attempts by the royal father to send them out.

The resistance by the Imose people triggered unrest, forcing the Police to shoot sporadically, while one of the bullets hit one Mathew an innocent Okada rider that just came back from Lusada market, while also injuring some school children and passers-by, with one of them dying later.

Reacting to the incident, the state  Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi said the police were invited to the area to maintain law and order but confirmed that two persons died as a result of stray bullets, while some suspected land grabbers were struggling over a gun with a police inspector.

Oyeyemi explained that the suspected land grabbers who he also described as cultists invaded the police station in the area and vandalised it.

He said they met the policeman and attempted to snatch a gun from him ,but, in the process they touched the  trigger and the bullets hit four persons .

“Four members of the community received gunshot wounds. Two later  died in the hospital while the remaining two are in stable condition receiving treatment.” the Police Image maker said