Gunmen, suspected to be cultists have attacked traditionalists performing ritual rites for deceased Prince Yinusa Okunloye, allegedly killed by cultists over the weekend in Ofatedo community of Osun State.
Four Oro devotees were said to have been shot and injured in the community in the early hours of Monday.
Oro is a popular traditional religious rite used for cleansing among the Yoruba.
According to a resident, who identified himself simply as Adesoye, the traditionalists had wanted to carry Oro round the community as part of traditional cleansing, after some suspected cultists shot dead one Yinusa Okunloye, said to be the son of the Olofa of Ofatedo, Oba Abdullahi Okunloye.
Okunloye was allegedly shot dead by the assailants who called him out of his house located at Olofa Street, Ofatedo, in the early hours of Saturday.
Adesoye further said, “The perpetrators are suspected cultists that killed the prince. We were informed that Oro devotees would move round the town for cleansing after the prince was shot dead, and we all stayed indoors.
“In the early hours of the morning on Monday, we heard gunshots in some parts of the town and we were told that four people, said to be Oro devotees, were injured.”
Responding to a distress call, some operatives of Osun Police Command were said to have stormed the area and engaged the assailants in an exchange of gunfire, as they fled.
Spokesperson of Osun Police Command, Yemisi Opalola, confirmed the incident, saying the four people injured were treated at different hospitals.
She said security had been beefed up across the affected community to prevent further breaches.
