Okun Development Association (ODA), the apex socio-cultural umbrella organisation of the Yoruba-speaking people of Kogi State, has expressed sadness over the reported killings of two people by gunmen in Odo-Ape community of Kabba-Bunu LGA on Friday.
The President-General of ODA, Ambassador Akenson Rotimi, expressing his shock at the news, condemned the gruesome murder of two persons on their farms by unidentified terrorists.
The two causalities were Mr. Sunday Aiyedero, secretary of the hunters association of the community, and another farmer, who was identified as a member of the Tiv community in the area.
In a statement signed by its Acting National Publicity Secretary, Ambassador Rufus Aiyenigba, ODA described the killings as depressing and a scary start off to the new year, “particularly coming only three days after the end of 2024, a year marred by unpleasant experiences by our people regarding insecurity across the Okun landscape.”
The President-General commended the state government for promptly stepping in, with the right actions to arrest the resultant social tension by calming the frayed nerves of the people in the community.
He also noted that this latest killings underscore the imperative of the proposed Okun Security Summit that is being worked on by the ODA, in collaboration with the Kogi State Government.
ODA called on all relevant stakeholders in the state, particularly in Okunland, to support the planned Okun Security Summit, and work together to enable them fortify security architecture towards safeguarding the lives of Okun people and enhance the economy of its rural communities.
