There is palpable tension in Ile-Ife and Modakeke in Osun State currently as about five persons said to be farmers have been gruesomely killed.
It was gathered that the five persons were found lying in the pool of blood in Ile-Ife. According to reports, they were murdered by some armed men while passing through a town in Ile-Ife on their way to farm.
The killing has, however, generated tension in Ile-Ife owing to fear of a reprisal attack from people of Modakeke, a neighbouring town, thus resulting in many Ile-Ife residents hurriedly closing their businesses.
This has in turn escalated the tension in the two towns as streets have been deserted, with everyone running back to their homes. It was also gathered that the authorities of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) have shut down its main gate.
The Osun State Police spokesperson, SP Yemisi Opalola also confirmed the incident, adding that a team of police operatives has been deployed to the towns to calm the situation.
Ile-Ife and Modakeke have had a decades-long history of communal crisis. The crisis between the two towns is one of the oldest intra-ethnic conflicts in Nigeria. At least seven major violent clashes have been recorded between the period of 1835 till date.
While the causes of the crisis might be numerous, historians have pinpointed the causes to include cultural identity, economics and politics as reflected in land ownership, payment of land rent (Isakole), creation of local government and location of its headquarters.
