Dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed in part of Osun State

The governor of the south-western state of Osun, Adebisi Akande, has imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the Yoruba communities of Ife and Modakeke to stem six days of violence over land rights.

In a broadcast on Osun State radio and television, he said the curfew would be effective from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. (17:00 GMT to 05:00 GMT).

‘The Guardian’ reported on Wednesday that at least 32 people were killed and over 100 homes burnt down. Many other businesses, including banks and hotels, were damaged. State Police Commissioner Johnson Nwoye narrowly escaped death when attacked at Odo-Okun. The commander of the Ife Division of the police, Ade Sinaba, was injured in the cross fire between the two communities, the Lagos newspaper said.

Police have created a buffer zone between the communities so that they can clear roads leading to the scene of the clashes. The BBC reported that schools remained closed and that streets were unusually deserted.

Yoruba leaders met representatives of both communities on Tuesday to calm tempers and broker reconciliation, Ife community spokesman Orayemi Orafidiya told AFP. Frederic Fasehun and Beko Ransom-Kuti of the pan-Yoruba nationalist organisation, the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), told community leaders they needed to keep the peace so that Nigeria’s nascent democracy would survive after 15 years of straight military rule.

Fasehun is the founder and leader of a faction of the OPC and Ransome-Kuti (brother of late musician Fela Anikulapo-Kuti) is treasurer. Both men were imprisoned under the regime of General Sani Abacha, who ruled Nigeria from 1993 to his death in 1998.