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On the night of June 5, 2021, dwellers of Igangan Town in Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State, South-West Nigeria, witnessed unprecedented horror.
At least 11 people - including some of the assailants were brutally killed - as confirmed by the police in Oyo State.
Vehicles, a filling station, and buildings including the Palace of the town's monarch, the Asigangan of Igangan, were torched.
It was the first time ever non-native gunmen would unleash terror of such a magnitude on the town.
AllNews obtained pictures and videos of hacked and bloodied human bodies -- they were absolutely gory.
Seyi Makinde condemned #TwitterBan in Nigeria, appealed to #KeepitOn and hours later Fulani terrorist invade igangan aoyo state and killed several people.... IS THIS A COINCIDENCE OR COORDINATED ATTACK by this Buhari horrible government ?????? pic.twitter.com/8OKaERQyDD
— ??♀️ ????? ????? ➐ (@NationOfNigeria) June 6, 2021
More videos of what happened in Igangan.
The man narrated that the killer Fulani herdsmen came with bikes to invade the town.
Comfort Francis Governor Akunna#KeepitOn #TwitterBanNigeria #June12Protest #NigerianIdol
pic.twitter.com/8fWKetYNYy— Ovie Of Warri ? (@EderuviePR) June 6, 2021
Bullet holes still visible
Bullet casing from the attack
Shattered window glass, the handiwork of the attackers
Bloodstain foam mattress
At night, local vigilantes usually move around to undertake law enforcement in the community. Oftentimes, they signal their presence by firing few shots into the air. Hence, people mistaken the shots heard around 10:40 p.m. on Saturday June 5, 2021 to be the normal gunfire.
A newly purchased vehicle inside the compound of the Asigangan of Igangan burnt
Oba Lasisi Adeoye, the Asigangan of Igangan accused the evicted Seriki Fulani Soliu Abdulkadri of sponsoring the deadly attack - a sentiment echoed by Azeez Ayilere, the Vice Chairman of Igangan Development Association.
“Residents initially thought it was the local vigilantes. But it dawned on us that it was some criminal Fulanis,” Ayilere said according to BBC News Yoruba on Sunday.
“We are convinced it is Salihu [also written as, and called Soliu] that organized that attack."
Asked his reason for pointing accusing fingers at Seriki Salihu, Ayilere said, “During the period Igboho [Sunday] came, and some hoodlums destroyed Salihu’s properties, he vowed to take revenge. And you know Fulani people, they are vengeful.
“This is because those who came yesterday, we heard them communicating in Fulani.
“If not that our people faced them, they would have unleashed mayhem till dawn.
“The attack started around to eleven.
“The number of casualties I am aware of is up to 12.”
Some of those killed are: Adelowo Adeagbo, Akin Ogundijo, Manatana Olaewe, Ogundare Lateef, Ajani Olaogun, Ewebiyi Ogunyale, Jimoh Ogunlana, Seun Akanji and Oguntoyinbo Abolanle.
The attackers - who were said to have stationed themselves at Akomare junction - looted stores, and burnt down some.
A wood planks truck was stopped, and the driver was given a hot chase. They shot at him, but thankfully, he escaped. However, the hoodlums proceeded to burn his van.
Igangan attack: Many killed by invading Fulani herdsmen, palace, houses burnt in Oyo state, Yoruba land pic.twitter.com/S8Epxkeyma
— Naija Gossip (@BNaijaBlog) June 6, 2021
Another vehicle, heading to Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, was burnt. The van was transporting yam flour.
“The moment I stopped and got down, they were running towards me, firing shots. They then opened a door of the vehicle, put petrol, and set it on fire," the driver of the vehicle said according to BBC News Yoruba.
At a building housing Lady Ola Digital Production, drinks for sale were stolen.
Likewise, a local, who doesn’t want to be named told AllNews via phone that the criminals met two men, simply identified as Kehinde and Adefemi, in a room and chopped off their hands.
The spot where Kehinde and Adefemi were attacked
A vehicle and electric generator belonging to Reverend Solomon Adebisi, a clergy of a Methodist Church were as well razed.
The attackers also attempted to burn the house of a retired school headmaster - after burning his car.
The burnt car of the retired teacher
Oosa Akomare
One person among the attackers was bashed by a god Oosa Akomare - and he slumped. The hoodlums then took him away, as per an account by a resident. His footwear was still in the drainage as of Monday.
The main man who confronted the attackers and repelled their onslaught, Moshood Ogunleke
AllNews gathered that Moshood Ogunleke, the head of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) in Igangan, confronted the attackers around Ile Gboge after being called on the phone. They tried to kill him by shooting at him, but he was unhurt.
Babalola Kabira, whose shop at Isale Oja was looted, urged authorities to empower Amotekun corps with more sophisticated arms. Operation Amotekun is the codename for the Western Nigeria Security Network.
According to Kabira, when it dawned on residents that the community was under attack, they called the police, “but they refused to show up”.
A man called ‘Alfa’, one of the shop owners close to the Asigangan of Igangan's palace, whose shop was razed, said he received a phone call around 1 am that his shop is being burnt.
“It came to us as a shock, but this act was perpetrated by guys loyal to the evicted Seriki Fulani," 'Alfa' told BBC News Yoruba.
“They messaged me on Facebook that they will deal with me. The reason being that they also sold gas here before. They were saying I was the reason they left.
“The person that threatened me went on radio, on Agidigbo FM to be precise, and made threatening remarks - specifically mentioning my name.
“So when this incident happened, I was not really surprised.”
While the Yoruba and the Fulani have endured a long time of endless farmer-herder conflicts, the tension in Ibarapa axis of Oyo State aggravated as kidnappings became rampant recently. The criminal trend spread to all states in southwestern Nigeria – and indeed other parts of the country.
In a typically slumbering rural community, with governance far removed and the police rarely effective, there emerged the Sarkin Fulani of Igangan, Salihu, at the centre of the frictions.
Evicted Seriki Fulani Soliu Abdulkadri
Salihu’s father migrated to Igangan some 50 years ago from Ilorin, north-central Nigeria, and settled at Alagolo Village.
In what underscores many years of negligence by successive governments of Oyo State, the land Salihu occupied was originally the state’s and was reserved for crop farming. Years after their arrival in Igangan, Salihu’s family took over the large expanse of land for settlement, the usual way many Nigerians, including Fulani herders, treat land as a common resource.
Ibarapa farmers had accused Salihu of allegedly capitalising on the misfortunes visited on them by unscrupulous herders as a tool for enriching himself.
But Salihu denied them all. He said, “they are envious of me and they think I was outshining their king because all matters were referred to me and they say that I wanted to turn Igangan to an emirate. All they accuse me of are lies,” Salihu said according to a February Investigation by Premium Times.
A son of Seriki Fulani (unnamed) claimed he has not even heard about the trending news of the Igangan attack. He refuted allegations his father sponsored the onslaught.
“We have been living there (Igangan) for over 50 years, and there was no problem," the Seriki's son said.
“When the problem started, we were blamed. They evicted us; we are now in another place (in Kwara State).
“Something happened to them now, they still finger us. Do they want to send us away from earth?
“If not that you (a BBC Yoruba News reporter) called me, I wouldn’t even know. I was not aware of the news.”
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