Three persons have been reportedly killed, following an attack on Igangan, Ayete and Igbo-Ora communities, three agrarian areas in Ibarapa, Oyo state.
A resident of one of the communities, who identified himself as Abiodun, told TheCable that the gunmen came in three vehicles on Friday evening, and carried out the attack under 10 minutes, but ran away after local vigilante and members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) engaged them in a shootout.
Abiodun, a member of the OPC, said the gunmen wore uniforms of security agencies and started shooting sporadically when they attacked the communities.
“The attackers wore army and customs service uniforms, shooting at people. We quickly mobilised and engaged them. But by then, they had killed people in Igbo-Ora, Igangan and Ayete. We were able to seize one of their vehicles. They came in two Toyota Hilux vehicles and a Toyota Serena car,” he said.
“They abandoned the Serena bus and ran away. As I speak, we are combing the forest. We will not allow gunmen to come to Ibarapa and kill us just to take our land.”
Narrating the incident further, residents said the gunmen attacked around 6pm and shot at people who were returning home from farms and other places of business.
An unspecified number of people were also said to have been injured and are currently receiving treatment.
Ibarapa has come under attack over the past months, with residents sustaining injuries or being killed.
On June 6, 15 people were reportedly killed when gunmen attacked Igangan town in a night raid, while several buildings were set ablaze.
During the attack, the palace of the monarch in Igangan was also razed.