There is palpable tension in Igangan and other parts of the Ibarapa area of Oyo State on Friday morning as the quit notice given to herdsmen in the area expires today.
The PUNCH learnt that some youths have gathered in the area waiting for the arrival of the Yoruba activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho.
It was also gathered that security operatives have surrounded the area.
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Igboho accused the Fulani community in the area of masterminding abductions, killings, and other criminal activities in the area.
When contacted on the telephone, the Convener of Igangan Development Advocates, Oladiran Oladokun, told our correspondent that there is tension in the town following the expiration of the ultimatum.
He said, “Some youths are already gathering in Igangan. There is tension but I learnt that Operation Burst has dispersed some of them.”
Some residents also said security agents were in town to prevent any act of lawlessness.
They pleaded that the security operatives should be around all through the night.
Meanwhile, the Oyo State Police Command has warned residents of the state against engaging in any act of lawlessness and violence in any part of the state.
The new Commissioner of Police in the state, Ngozi Onadeko, gave this warning in a statement issued on Thursday by the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr Olugbenga Fadeyi.
Frustrated by the incessant killings, kidnappings, and destruction of farms allegedly being carried out by herdsmen in Ibarapaland, Igboho last Friday stormed the Fulani settlements in the area and asked them to leave within seven days.
The police said four persons were injured when Igboho visited the place and the Fulani also allegedly waylaid farmers returning from their farms the same Friday night and hacked four of them.
Governor Seyi Makinde had on Wednesday in a state broadcast condemned the threat to evict the Fulani, while warning those behind the threat to desist or be ready to face the wrath of the law.
The new CP in Oyo State apparently referring to the quit notice in the statement said the police aligned themselves with the position of the governor and said the police were ready to ensure the adequate security of every law-abiding resident of the state.
The statement read, “This is to inform the good people of Oyo State that the Commissioner of Police, Oyo State Police Command, CP. Ngozi Onadeko, has keenly followed development and statement, emanating from different individuals, regarding security situation in the “state.
“The Oyo State Police Command would like to associate itself with the position of His Excellency, Governor Oluseyi Makinde, the Executive Governor of Oyo State, on the need for the good people of Oyo State to be calm and peaceful, as well as desist from taking laws into their hands.
“The commissioner of police would like to assure the peace loving people of Oyo State that necessary strategies have been put in place, in collaboration with other security agencies in the state, to ensure that all residents of Oyo State are free to go about their lawful businesses and duties, without threat or hindrance.
“The police command with the support of sister security agencies wishes to state emphatically that anyone who engages in any disturbance of the peace or any act of criminality will be brought to justice.”
Punch