Residents of Irekari in Ose local govt area of Ondo state have raised alarm over daily sneaking of passengers through Okpe/Idogun road into Ondo state in defiance of border closure by the southwest states of Nigeria.
To enforce the closure a week ago, some youths from the border towns of Idogun accompanied by the APC chairmanship candidate in the coming local govt poll, Prince Dennis Adekunle and the DPO, Idoani Police Division, Mr. Daniyan blocked the route at Tobacco Plantation near Ose bridge.
The blockade according to the youths was to corroborate the efforts of the state governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19 from volatile states into the state
In defiance of border closure in the south west Nigeria, irate youths from Okpe in Edo state armed with guns, cutlasses, knives and other dangerous weapons reportedly stormed the place at night and cleared the barricades to allow free passage of travellers from Edo and other states into Ondo state.
According to some farmers and hunters from Imeri and Idogun living along Ose riverbanks, the Okpe youths were not only armed with dangerous weapons but vowed to attack and deal ruthlessly with anybody attempting to block the road claiming that the Tobacco plantation where the road was blocked belongs to them.
The farmers and hunters who are now living in palpable fear expressed worries that the issue may snowball into another land dispute if not properly handle as similar issues have previously resulted into series of bloody clashes between Okpe and Idogun residents over who owns the land.
JATS Online News 