Mother, Baby, Ex-Youth Leader, Others Killed In Ondo Cult Clash

Following the cult clash and unrest in Owo local government area, the Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has ordered a dawn-to-dusk curfew in the area till further notice.

This was contained in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan.

The statement orders all residents to remain indoors during the curfew except essential services, such as hospitals, emergency services, and law enforcement, which will be exempted.

The government also asked security agencies in the State to enforce the curfew, ensure safety of lives and properties as well arrest perpetrators of the violence in the community.

No fewer than four persons were killed in a clash involving some suspected rival cult groups on Monday.

The victims included a yet-to-be-identified woman and her baby who were reportedly hit by stray bullets of the suspected cultists. The other two victims were allegedly shot during the clash.

An eyewitness in the community who spoke in confidence narrated that when the two groups clashed on Monday morning, there were sporadic gunshots in some parts of the town for several hours, during which the victims were killed.

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The eyewitness said, “We thank God that students are not around because we had been hearing gunshots and after, it was heard that some people had been killed early this morning.”

The remains of the deceased were said to have been deposited at the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre in Owo.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mrs Funmilayo Odunlam, confirmed the incident but said men of the command had been deployed in the community to calm the situation.

“Four people have been confirmed dead, but normalcy has returned through the intervention of the police and efforts are on to arrest the perpetrators of the act,” the PPRO stated.