About 25 residents of Igangan, a village in the Ibarapa North Local Government area of Oyo State, died on Saturday following a late-night invasion by heavily-armed Fulani herdsmen.

According to a resident of the town who spoke with FIJ on Sunday, the invaders also burnt down several stores and a fuel station.

“The incident happened at about 11pm on Saturday,” said a man who simply identified himself as ‘Iroko’. “Not less than 50 armed Fulani men entered Igangan and killed about 25 people. They burnt down stores and a filling station.”

Lawal Olawale, another resident of the town, said the invaders entered Igangan with enough guns and bullets to wipe out an entire city.

“They came with guns and bullets enough to wipe out an entire city. I heard they came with more than 10 motorcycles and other vehicles. Anybody they saw, they shot, and if the bullet didn’t penetrate, they would use matchete on that person.”

In his own narrative, Gbolagade, the Baale Akogun of Igangan, said three of the invaders were killed by night guards and operatives of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria.

Igangan has been in the news lately over controversies relating to Fulani settlers in the community. Salihu Abdulkadhir, a prominent Fulani man who was said to have been providing cover and assistance to killer Fulani herdsmen in the town, was sacked in February by Sunday Igboho, a popular Yoruba freedom fighter.

Describing Saturday’s incident, Gbolagade said it was a reprisal attack on the town by  Abdulkadhir’s boys.