Oba Taofeeq Osunmakinde, the Obawure of Ifetuntun in Ife South Local Government Area of Osun State, has petitioned the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, over growing threats to peace and security in his community.
Addressing journalists in Akure, Ondo State, on Sunday, the monarch expressed deep concern over recurring violent clashes stemming from a protracted boundary dispute between Ifetuntun and a neighbouring settlement in Ijebu West Local Government Area of Ogun State.
Oba Osunmakinde appealed to the IGP to urgently investigate and bring to justice those fueling unrest in the area, stressing that armed individuals were now infiltrating his community, while residents suffer harassment from security operatives.
He noted that the 30-mile stretch of land at the centre of the dispute, known as Ifetuntun, was previously demarcated by the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation following a 2001 crisis during President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.
That intervention, he said, enabled a period of relative peace between both communities.
The monarch affirmed that the Ifetuntun settlement predates 2010, and the formal recognition of his throne further entrenched the community’s peaceful existence.
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However, he expressed concern that some powerful individuals were allegedly threatening to destroy the community, accusing them of sponsoring hoodlums and creating insecurity in the area.
He called on the police chief to act swiftly to prevent a breakdown of law and order and to safeguard the lives and property of the people of Ifetuntun.
He said, “Ifetuntun has experienced the rule of nine military and civilian administrations without significant conflict or disarray in the community.
“However, in 2016, we faced their first attack led by a forest guard from the Ministry of Natural Resources. They hired thugs who burned homes and caused damage estimated at N2 billion in our community.
“Several arrests were made then, while the principal suspects disappeared, and the matter was eventually settled out of court through intervention from the then Ooni of Ife and the former Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s administration.
“But in recent times, a group of hoodlums has been harassing our residents along the federal road connecting Ife South to Ijebu West LGs ( in Osun and Ogun states, respectively). The hoodlums have been extorting money from passersby, claiming to be acting on behalf of the state government.
“We are appealing to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun. We have submitted petitions with evidence to his office, as well as to the Osun State and Federal Governments, to come to our aid.
“We are law-abiding citizens and cannot take the law into our own hands. We seek justice and government intervention.”
