One dead as rival cult groups clash in Osun

One person was confirmed dead on Friday in a fracas reportedly involving rival cult groups in Osogbo, Osun State.

The clash which started at a carnival held near Arikalamu Compound, Osogbo, on Thursday reportedly claimed the life of a scavenger, simply identified as Saheed.

A source who spoke on condition of anonymity said Saheed was killed with a stone after he clashed with an unnamed member of Aye Confraternity.

The source further said that the deceased, who belonged to a rival cult group, acted rudely to a senior member of Aye and was killed at the venue.

“He had attended a carnival in the area when the crisis started. He was a scavenger,” the source added.

Upon learning of his demise, members of Saheed’s group were said to have organised candlelight for him on Thursday evening in the Sabo area.

City Round learnt that during the procession, traders in Sabo, who were predominantly Hausa, were beaten up for allegedly impeding the movement of the mourners.

A resident of Sabo, simply identified as Amusa, told our correspondent that, a yet-to-be-identified trader was killed in the process, adding that the hoodlums continued their onslaught on Friday morning.

A female trader in Sabo said many people were injured in the clashes and taken to hospitals within the town. She, however, said no one was killed in Sabo.

When our correspondent visited the scene around 10 am on Friday, gunshots suspected to have been fired by the hoodlums were heard some metres away from where the police were stationed.

Special Adviser to the Osun State Governor on Civic Engagement, Mr Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, who was also at the scene, told journalists that the parties involved had been identified.

The Special Adviser to Osun State Governor on Security, Abiodun Ige, confirmed one dead.

Ige said, “Normalcy has returned to the area. One person was confirmed dead in the fracas but the identity of the deceased is not available yet. Rival cult groups were involved in the clash which claimed one person."