Osun State Government, under the leadership of Governor Ademola Adeleke, has placed Ifon, Ilobu and Erin-Osun under a 24-hour curfew until further notice. The decision is not unconnected to the violence that broke out in the three communities, leading to shooting and the burning down of properties, with residents fleeing their homes.

The government initially placed Ifon and Ilobu on a curfew from 6 pm to 6 am on Friday. However, on Saturday morning, the state announced an extension of the curfew to Erin-Osun Town and also extended the time frame for the three communities to 24 hours daily until peace is restored.

“The imposed curfew was necessary to forestall the escalation of the crisis and breakdown of law and order due to the communal clashes in the communities,” the government stated.

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FIJ learnt that a lot of lives were lost, houses and various properties burnt and vandalised, and many residents have deserted their homes out of fear of further violence.

While the exact cause of the recent attack remains unclear, FIJ understands that the communities seem to be caught in an age-long conflict. Also, the communities have been pointing accusing fingers at one another since the recent unrest.

There are claims that land disputes are often at the root of these communal clashes, while some believe they are fuelled by political undercurrents aimed at toppling the government.

For instance, a Facebook video sighted by FIJ shows Abdulahi Olohunlomerue, an Islamic cleric, saying: “Ilobu and Ifon are not fighting. It’s politicians who are fighting there. They feel that if they send clips to Abuja, a state of emergency will be declared in Osun. But that cannot happen in this state.”

But for Basita Olokuta and many others, attributing the attacks to a political conspiracy is absurd.

According to a statement by Akeem Adekunle Yusuf, the spokesperson of Olufon of Ifon, Ilobu attacked the Ifon on Thursday night, with sounds of gunshots filling the air.

“They started burning our people’s houses, killing our people and all that. The affected areas include the border areas of our community. They even burnt the government-owned primary health care in the Akinponroro area,” said Yusuf.

Adegoke Ogunsola, Otun Jagun of Ilobu, said the clash began on Monday after Ilobu residents were attacked on their farms by “hoodlums from Ifon”. The attack then extended to more people and their houses.

“The new dimension to the clash is that people of Erin Osun also joined and attacked our people, burnt about 10 houses at Oke-Ayepe and Ayedaade community,” said Ogunsola.

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These clashes were a recurring issue under past administrations before Adeleke’s tenure. In January, Adeleke set up a 100-member committee to resolve the incessant land disputes among the three communities.

According to a 2023 publication by the Vanguard, Ifon, Ilobu and Erin-Osun have been fighting one another over land-related disagreements for more than 16 years. Considering that the fights have not stopped by 2025, this means the clashes would have been on for over 18 years.

In 2021, at least five people sustained gunshot injuries when Erin-Osun and Ilobu communities attacked each other over a land dispute. After that incident, former governor Gboyega Oyetola made the traditional rulers of the two communities sign a peace pact, with a promise to speak with the residents to allow peace to reign.

In 2023, almost a year into Adeleke’s tenure, Ifon and Ilobu hounded each other over a land dispute. There were killings and burning of houses as well, with many rendered homeless.

The 2023 incident was said to have begun after Ifon people opposed plans by Taoreed Lagbaja, the then Chief of Army Staff, to build a military hospital in Ilobu, claiming the proposed building land was theirs. Ilobu people, however, insisted that the land belonged to them.

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On the recent incident that led to the 24-hour curfew in the three communities, Ilobu residents told FIJ that it was connected to the plans to establish a military school in the town.

“Our traditional ruler gave them one of our pieces of land, but they claimed ownership of the land,” one resident said.

“The conflict has been ongoing since then, even before Lagbaja died. They’ve been fighting us since that time. But this latest attack is worse than the previous ones. We can’t sleep in our homes; we can’t observe Sahur. They’ve burnt houses in the neighbourhood and shot at people.

“They have been waging war against us over this issue since 2023. The people of Erin-Osun have even joined forces with them to fight us. Armed men are entering people’s homes. Please, help us.”

Another resident added, “This has been going on since 2023, and our governor has not done anything. This latest attack is so brutal that the people of Ifon have forced us out of our homes and into the main town of Ilobu. Erin people are supporting them.

“We don’t even know what offence we’ve committed against these two towns. They killed Lagbaja over this because he tried to bring the military school here. Ifon and Erin are the culprits.”

Abimbola Abatta is a reporter with FIJ, writing reports in partnership with Report for the World which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.