One Dead, Several Injured in OPC Members’ Bloody Fight in Osun

By Abdulrofiu Agboola

One person has been reportedly killed in a bloody fight among members of the Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) in Ede, Osun State. The deceased is known as Mutiu Azeez.

CityMirrorNews gathered that two groups within the OPC had violently attacked each other on Tuesday.

But the OPC members alleged that some thugs from the Vigilante Group of Nigeria in the state attacked them and killed Azeez.

Speaking with journalists in Osogbo, the OPC zonal coordinator of Ede North Local Government chapter, Adebisi Alabi said the members of the congress have been under severe attack for some weeks now.

Alabi stated that the thugs eventually killed one of its members, a 35 year old man, Azeez Mutiu on Sunday.

He said: “The attack actually started two weeks ago with the thugs attacking the Congress members. Some members were wounded and one was killed.

“We have informed the police about the matter but they are not doing anything about it. These thugs claim they belong to Alhaji Ya Salam and that no one can stop them or bring them to book.”

One of the OPC members who also addressed the journalists, Mrs Kolade Damilade said her house was also raided by the thugs.

Damilade said: ” They came to my house, forcefully opened the door and scattered my things. They took my jeweleries and also broke the glasses of my cars and windows.”

When asked what could be the cause of the thugs’ attack, Alabi said Ya Salam does not want OPC in Ede and he is bent on getting rid of the Congress.

He thereby implored the Nigerian Government and everybody at large to come to the aid of the Congress and intervene in the matter.

Another faction of story on the attack has it that a leader of one of the notorious the groups, Taoreed Faronbi, who was recently released from prison over the murder of an Ede based thugs simply known as Elemo, has allegedly embarked on a revenge mission against those he accused of masterminding his arrest and subsequent imprisonment.

Faronbi, according to a reliable source at Ede, had mobilised some of his members, including the deceased, Azeez, who lived at Owode-ede, to attack members of the other groups.

The Medium learnt that three members of opposing group, Kuranga, Wakili Doki, and Jelili Odonburi were attacked by Faronbi’s group in the early hours of Tuesday.

According to the source, the trio, who were said to have engaged their attackers in a fierce battle, which led to Azeez’s death, were eventually overpowered and tied with ropes in anticipation of their execution.

Some members of the Faronbi’s group were said to have sustained serious injuries in the attack.

However, members of the Vigilante group in the area who were alerted swung into action and eventually rescued them.

An eye witness said Azeez’s corpse was later recovered by the police, who finally stormed the area for investigation and arrest of culprits.

All efforts to get police’s reaction on the matter proved abortive, as the Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO) in the state, Mrs Folasade Odoro claimed to be at a meeting when she was called. She did not reply the text message sent to her for comment either.

However, the Head of Harmonised Vigilante Group in Osun, Alhaji Rilwan Hussein popularly called Yahasalamu confirmed the incident, describing it as very unfortunate.

Hussein disclosed that his men rescued the three abducted OPC members, and also joined the police to make some arrests, adding that the Commissioner of Police, Mr Fimihan Adeoye was personally on ground to douse tension and restore normalcy in the area.