In the midst of a communal crisis between Ifon and Ilobu communities in Osun State, an admission seeker was tragically killed on Sunday, September 17, by unidentified gunmen in Okanla, Irepodun Local Government Area of the state.
The assailants launched an attack early in the morning, targeting the palace of the Olokanla of Okanla. They first killed the admission seeker, identified as Ibrahim Qudus, and then set the palace building ablaze.
The ongoing communal crisis between Ifon and Ilobu communities is rooted in a land dispute, and this incident marked a dangerous escalation.
Prince Jimoh Qadri, the victim’s uncle, claimed that he was the intended target of the assassination attempt. He explained that a group of armed individuals, numbering about 20 and wearing hoods, invaded his residence in the Okanla area on Sunday morning, firing their weapons indiscriminately. Fortunately, he was not at home during the attack.
Qadri recounted, “I went out this morning when my wife called me that some people numbering about 20 wearing hoods came home with guns. There was a person among them known as Kokanle who didn’t cover his face with the hood. They broke all my house windows. I didn’t park my car outside, so they thought I was at my family house at Olokanla compound. They came to search our family compound, but I was not there.”
He went on to describe the horrific fate that befell his younger brother, Ibrahim Kudus, who was found at home during the attack. Kudus, aged 28, was killed, and the house was set on fire. After his murder, the attackers placed his body inside a car and set it ablaze.
Kudus, who was in pursuit of admission to a higher institution and had taken the last JAMB examination, met a tragic end.
Qadri called upon the state government and security agencies to identify and apprehend the culprits.
The Police spokesperson for the Osun Command, Yemisi Opalola, confirmed the incident and reported that officers had been dispatched to the area. She stated, “Someone was burnt with a car around Okanla, the area between Ifon and Ilobu. We have deployed our men to the area to forestall further breakdown of law. Even the Commissioner of Police went there. Normalcy is returning to the place.”
