A major violent conflict which could have degenerated into inter-ethnic bloodbath was nipped in the bud Friday evening at Ajase-Ipo following the prompt intervention of His Royal Highness, Oba Ismaila Muhammed Atoloye Alebiosu, the Olupo of Ajase-Ipo.
Fight was said to have broken out between travelling members of the Oodua People’s Congress, OPC and Fulani traders along the Kara Market following an incident in which a Fulani was said to have ran into one of the vehicles in the convoy of the OPC members who were coming back from the Osun Oshogbo Festival.
Attempts by the OPC members to rescue and take care of the Fulani trader was said to have been resisted by the victim and other traders who were said to have damaged the OPC vehicles, leading to outbreak of fight between the two groups.
In a proactive move aimed at forestalling bloody encounter, the Olupo promptly rallied the Police and other Security Agencies in Offa and Ilorin to the scene of the incident.
Taking total control of the security threat, the Olupo led his Chiefs to kara Market to personally ensure that normalcy was restored.
The timely intervention of the Security Agencies and the proactive steps taken by the Olupo saved the situation from getting out of control as calm had returned to the market by late Friday evening.
In a Press Release from the Olupo’s Media Unit, Oba Alebiosu expressed profound appreciation to Security Agencies, particularly the Police for their prompt response and proactive steps taken to bring the situation to normal.
“The police deserve commendation for their promptness and professionalism. They rose to the occasion to nip a truly ugly situation in the bud. We give kudos to the officers and men of the police who took charge at Kara yesterday”, the Olupo said.
The Olupo also had words of commendation for Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq for the result driven security interventions.
