Scores wounded as rival cults clash in Osun secondary schools

No fewer that 15 students were 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.