A land dispute between the Akure and Idanre communities in Ondo State has resulted in five fatalities and ten injuries.
Before the conflict turned tragic on Friday, tensions had apparently been rising for days.
According to Vanguard, the groups have been fighting for years over who should own the disputed Gbalegi village.
The Ondo State Police Command announced that seven people were arrested in connection with the violence.
Police reports claim that the suspects were discovered in possession of seven single-barrel guns, empty cartridges, live ammo, and charms.
Police investigators have been sent to the region to restore order after residents of the Gbalegi village fled due to the violence.
According to eyewitnesses, irate youths took the deceased’s bodies to a police station to protest the murders before transferring them to the state capital’s state specialist hospital mortuary in Akure.
Funmi Odunlami, the state police command spokesman, verified the killings and the arrests during her remarks on the incident.
Odunlami said, “The police command received a distress call that a group of thugs had mobilized themselves to Gbalegi area (a disputed land between Akure and Idanre), attacking the people of the said area.
“Upon receiving the information, police officers moved to the scene and arrested seven suspects. They were in possession of charms, seven single-barrel guns, live ammunition, and expended cartridges. Further searches of nearby bushes revealed four corpses with bullet wounds.”
Wilfred Afolabi, the state’s police commissioner, has urged communities to pursue legal remedies rather than using violence to settle boundary conflicts, advising caution in this regard.