Oba Taofeeq Osunmakinde, the Obawure of Ifetuntun, the traditional leader of the Ifetuntun community in Osun State’s Ife South Local Government Area, has petitioned Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector General of Police, over alleged threats to destroy the village.
In the Ijebu West Local Government Area of Ogun State, the monarch also appealed to the IGP over ongoing conflicts resulting from a boundary dispute between his village and a nearby community.
Speaking in Akure, the capital of Ondo State, on Sunday, the monarch asked Egbetokun to look into and capture those responsible for the disturbance caused by the continuing boundary dispute between Ife South and Ijebu West over the 30-mile land tract known as Ifetuntun.
Osunmakinde said that the Federal Government intervened in 2001 when a fight broke out between the Ifetuntun settlers and the Ijebu villages under the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
However, the boundaries were established by the Federation’s Surveyor General’s office, which has allowed the two settlements to live side by side up to this point.
He claims that the Ifetuntun community had been around before to 2010 and that their peaceful way of life had been cemented with the throne’s approval.
However, he said that certain high-ranking government officials were threatening to demolish the community, pointing out that security agents were abusing his people and that armed thugs were starting to seize control of the area.
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.
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“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.”
Explaining the history of the community, the monarch said Ifetuntun had been existing for a long time as a government-reserved area where he served as a chief and traditional ruler.
He added that between 2008 and 2009, a chieftaincy inquiry in Osun State included Ifetuntun, affirming its status as a town.
He said he was crowned as monarch in 2010 by the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade, and the then-Governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, presented him with a certificate and staff of office.
