wounded, while security agents
arrested about 15 others yesterday,
following bloody clashes involving
rival cults in two secondary schools
in Osogbo, Osun State capital.
It was gathered that the fracas was
a continuation of an initial clash at
the weekend involving some
students of Saint James Anglican
Secondary School, Kola Balogun
Area and Ansar-U-Deen Secondary
School, Iludun, who were believed to
be members of rival cult groups.
Eyewitnesses told Daily Sun that a
group of students from Saint James
had laid siege to Ansar-U-Deen
Secondary School as early as 9 am,
in what was said to be a reprisal
attack to avenge the treatment
meted out to a student of the school
and attacked many students with
dangerous weapons.
Policemen deployed to the scene
had to fire several shots into the air
to disperse the students before the
situation could be brought under
control.
The development, which
immediately sent passersby and
residents of the neighbourhood into
panic, saw fleeing students
scampering in different directions,
while vehicles and motorcycles
passing through Oba Adesoji
Aderemi, Osogbo East By-pass that
passes by the school, were not
speared by the rampaging students,
who were wielding dangerous
weapons.
Checks around hospitals in the area
revealed that some of the injured
students had been treated and
discharged, but a source among
staff of the school said members of
the group that was the main target
of the attack had moved the
seriously wounded members to an
undisclosed hospital in the
neighbouring town to Osogbo.
Although there were conflicting
reports about the cause of the clash,
a student of Ansar-U-Deen, who
spoke under condition of anonymity,
explained that some students of his
school had last week Friday
accosted an unnamed member of a
cult group being led by a student of
Saint James Anglican School simply
identified as 'Rado'.
He further explained that some
personal belongings of the student
were seized by Ansar-U-Deen
students, saying attempt by the
student from Saint James, to reclaim
his property from his attackers with
the help of his friends, however,
turned bloody.
"Students from our school, when the
Anglican student came to his friends
to get his phone and other property
back, attacked them with machete
and the student, whose property
were seized had his left arm badly
severed.
"This morning, just as we were
about settling down in school, the
friends of the Saint James' student
that was wounded last week started
using machete and charms on us,"
he said.
Asked how many students were
wounded in the clash, he said: "
Many students received varying
degrees of machete cuts. I know of
10 students from SSS 3 alone that
were attacked during the fracas."
Contrary to this claim, a final year
female student of Ansar-U-Deen told
Daily Sun that the clash was caused
by a fight over another female
student of Saint James said to be
the girlfriend of a leading member
of a cult group in the school.
She said: "The cult group in Saint
James attacked our school here
because the friend of 'Rugged', who
is the leader of a cult group in our
school (Ansar-U-Deen) snatched a
girlfriend of a member of the group
at Saint James."
As at the time of filing this report,
over 10 students arrested by police
during the clash were being held at
Iludun Police Station while a top
security source, who did not want
his name in print, said some ring
leaders of the groups involved in the
violence were being trailed by the
security agents.
Efforts to get reaction of the police
to the incident failed, as several
calls to the mobile phone lines of
the spokesperson of the command,
Folasade Odoro (DSP), were not
answered.
Speaking on the incident, the Public
Relations Officer of Osun Command
of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence
Corps (NSCDC), Ayo Olowe,
confirmed the clash, adding that the
command did not make any arrest
despite being at the scene.
Posted By David Aniemeka
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