Protest rocked Ayede Ekiti in Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State on Tuesday, as a man identified as Seyi Oladipo was shot dead over land dispute.
The land in dispute is located at Orisunmibare, between Ayede Ekiti and a neighbouring town, Itaji Ekiti.
The 40-year old Oladipo and father of three was allegedly shot right within the disputed land.
The situation was said to have sparked protest among Ayede youths, who were said to have violently stormed the palace of their monarch, Oba Mumini Orisagbemi before heading for Oba Adamo Babalola’s palace.
It was gathered that the visibly enraged youths were prevented from attacking the palace due to heavy presence of policemen drafted from Oye Divisional Police Station.
The Orisunmibare village head, who was accused of firing the
gunshot, was said to have fled the scene to an unknown destination.
Explaining how the incident happened, one of the youth leaders from the area, Segun Ajayi said: “the people of Orisunmibamire came some years back to require for a portion of land in that area for farming.
“The land in the area belongs to Itaji people and our monarch directed them to the then Onitaji for proper action.
“They were given the land and we have been co-habiting peacefully. But later, they started encroaching on Ayede’s land. About a week ago, they started doing the survey on a portion of land in our area and we cautioned them against that.
“People from Itaji and Ayede met on the land yesterday for resolution. But as they were discussing the issue, the village head invaded the place with guns. When the argument over the issue became hot, the village head threatened to shoot and all of a sudden we heard a gunshot which hit Seyi and he fell on the ground”.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Ekiti State Command, Mr Alberto Adeyemi, confirmed the incident.
“I have just confirmed that there was a protest in the town over the death of a person but everything is now under control. Two people have been arrested while others are also being trailed by our men over the incident”, he stated.
