The Osun State Government has imposed a 24-hour curfew on the Ifon and Ilobu communities of Orolu and Irepodun local government areas.
The round-the-clock curfew is coming after clashes between the two communities led to the loss of lives and wanton destruction of properties.
A statement by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, on Friday added that the curfew is to forestall further breakdown of law and order in the hitherto two peaceful and law-abiding communities.
The statement reads, “Governor Ademola Adeleke has directed that a 24-hour Curfew begins in Orolu and Irepodun local governments housing Ifon and Ilobu communities with immediate effect.
“To maintain a lasting peace and order pending when the issues at hand would be amicably resolved, Governor Ademola Adeleke in his executive capacity as the Chief Security Officer of the State, has ordered the immediate take over of the disputed lands/areas by his administration.
“In the same vein, the government has ordered that anyone or group of persons found or seen doing one thing or the other on the disputed lands/ areas would be made to face the full wrath of the law, accordingly, by the Osun State Government.
“Therefore, in strict compliance with the 24-hour curfew now imposed, the Adeleke administration has also ordered strict restriction of both human and vehicular movements in the affected areas and communities until otherwise directed by His Excellency, the state Governor and the Chief Security Officer of Osun state.
“Accordingly, officers of the Joint Security Task Force comprising the Nigerian Army, Police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps have been directed by His Excellency to be on a 24-hour surveillance of the two communities with a view to ensuring a lasting peace.
“As a government, the present administration has the obligation as conferred on it by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to protect the lives and properties of the people of Orolu and Irepodun local governments and, by extension, Osun State in general.
“The present administration will not in any way be a party to compromising any action or utterances that will mortgage the peace and order currently holding sway in Osun state since the inception of the present administration in the last year.
“While commiserating with the affected families of those who lost their lives in the wake of the recent crisis, the present administration is still reiterating the need for peace and order to be restored in the two concerned local governments.
“Maintaining peace and order is our collective responsibility in Osun state,” the statement concluded.
Recall that Adeleke had, in the maiden edition of the Ipade Imole public enlightenment programme of the state government, announced that the state government has taken over the parcel of land in contention.