By; OLADELE ADEDAYO, Ado-Ekiti
Men suspected to be Fulani herdsmen spread their unabated killings on Thursday to Orin-Ekiti in Ido/Osi Local Government Area of Ekiti State as a Tiv pregnant woman was hacked to death by those referred to by the
locals as “Bororo herdsmen” at the town’s Farm Settlement in the early
hours of the day.
The killing took place just 48 hours to a referendum in the town on the vacant stool of the Olorin of Orin-Ekiti.
The indigenes are expected to vote
“YES” or “NO” on the number of ruling houses in the community.
One of the elders of the town, the Onikare of Orin-Ekiti, High Chief
Bamidele Fasuyi, said the referendum will go ahead as planned on Saturday despite the killing incident.
An indigene of the town who is a former Chairman of Ido/Osi Local
Government, Prince Sanmi Olubummo, who confirmed the incident in a telephone chat, disclosed that another victim of the attack was receiving treatment at a hospital.
Olubummo said policemen from Ido-Ekiti Divisional Headquarters visited the scene of the killing saying the situation was calm.
He said: “The incident happened inside the Orin Farm Settlement.
Nobody knows what led to the crisis in the early hours of Thursday but
our people said the Bororo herdsmen killed the pregnant woman.”
But the Regent and the Olorin-in-Council has said it would hold a
referendum on Saturday to resolve controversies surrounding the royal
stool.
There are three Ruling Houses in the town: Famokiti, Olubummo and
Idimehinsuwon. But there is a controversy over the acceptance of
Idimehinsuwon as one of the ruling houses.
A statement signed on behalf of the Olorin-in-Council, by the Onikare,
High Chief Fasuyi, urged the ruling houses to make their representatives available to witness the referendum.
“The referendum is aimed at the community’s populace who are the
stakeholders on the issue of who rules them to publicly express their
candid opinions on the matter of who is entitled to rule over them.
“This referendum is at the interest of the whole Orin-Ekiti community,” the statement said.
