Two die, many injured as carnival turns bloody in Ondo

Jitters went through the spines of Ondo State residents as two persons were shot dead in a gun duel that ensued between two rival cult groups during a carnival, which later turned bloody in Ondo West Local Council of the state.

The unfortunate incident occurred on Monday evening at the carnival organised by youths of Kogbona Street in the ancient Ondo City, where trigger-happy cultists had a feast day shooting innocent people.

This, led to the untimely death of a lady, who was identified as Afunsat Ayodeji and one other dead victim, whose identity remained unknown; and several other survivors who sustained various degrees of injuries and hence hospitalized in the city.

The Guardian gathered that the rival cult groups, before the Monday crisis, had engaged themselves in a fight but community leaders brokered peace between them.

However, in what appeared to be a reprisal attack, a suspected cult group interrupted the procession to halt the carnival, which resulted in heated arguments and uproar.

The source disclosed that gunshots were sporadically fired towards the direction of the procession, which instantly hit and killed Ayodeji, who was said to be a pepper seller in one of the neighborhood markets.

The casualty aggravated the already tensed up situation and both groups went on rampage, leading to the death of the second casualty, whose identity was yet to be known at press time.

This marred the carnival that initially started with pomp and pageantry around the city, as events took a turn for the worse before the intervention of the Enuowa Divisional Police Station, which curtailed further massacre and breakdown of law and order.

The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Enuowa Police Station, Mr. Kunle Omisakin, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), said two persons were arrested in connection with the assault and murder.

Omisakin added that information concerning the matter was transferred to the appropriate section at the Police Command Headquarters in Akure, while investigation was still intensified to get to the root of the attack.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Femi Joseph, disclosed the names of the suspects as Tosin Omosekeji, 29 and Tope Akinpelumi, 28; though he claimed there was only one casualty.

“We are on the trail of others still at large, we are investigating the matter and all of them will be arrested and charged to court,” he said.