Hundreds of residents of Gbekuba, Araromi, Akilapa, Oladele and Agbofieti communities in Apata area of Ibadan, the capital city of Oyo State, Saturday morning, protested against attack on the Chairman of the Landlords’ Association of the area by suspected ritualists.
The residents who trooped out as early as 7.00a.m., also expressed their displeasure over incessant dumping of rituals at strategic junctions within the community by the group of suspected ritualists being led by one Lekside.
The Chairman of the Ifelodun Estate Landlords/Landladies’ Association, Engr. Samuel Kolawole Olayinka, landed in a hospital after he was attacked by suspected ritualists for preventing them from placing fetish objects in the community.
Olayinka, who is also the chairman of the Association of Water Well Drilling, Rig Owners and Practitioners(AWDROP), Oyo state chapter, drew the wrath of the ritualists, numbering about 12, after calling the attention of night guards to prevent them from placing down the ‘sacrifice’.
The Chairman, who was driving back home with his wife in his official vehicle, on sighting the ritualists in white clothes and fetish objects in their hand, beamed the headlight of his vehicle at them and shouted.
Olayinka then drove back and called on the leader of night guards on duty to come and assist driving the suspected ritualists away from the scene.
However, on getting back to the scene, the suspected ritualists seized the chairman and the night guard and dragged the duo into their expansive compound located close to the junction.
Olayinka was reportedly beaten mercilessly by the suspected ritualists, who also vandalised his official vehicle.
This consequently made hundreds of residents of the communities, who were already tired of sighting rituals at strategic junctions within the area early in the morning, to stage a protest against the leader of the suspected ritualists, simply identified as Lekside.
Residents of the area were particularly disturbed and worried about Lekside, who is in his late twenties had five different multi – million naira mansions within the community. He is said noted for always surrounding himself with with young men and women.
The protesters insisted that Lekside and his cohorts must vacate the community.
It took the intervention of a team of policemen from the Apata police station before the situation could be put under control on Saturday.
Packaged by Olugbenga Abegunrin
