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Two people lost their lives on Friday when some youths suspected to be members of a cult clashed with a group of hemp sellers in Osogbo, Osun State.
An eyewitness who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of attack told City Round that a crisis erupted at Ode Oga Junction in Oke Baale Area, Osogbo, when some suspected cultists abducted a man alleged to be a hemp seller identified only as Kokoro.
Kokoro was said to have renounced cultism; a decision that allegedly displeased members of his former group.
Members of the group were said to have launched a search for Kokoro since he made the decision but they could not get him until Friday when they saw him on a motorcycle.
The eyewitness said, “Members of his former group saw him (Kokoro) on a motorcycle at Ode Oga and abducted him.
When news of his abduction reached his own group at Ita Akogun, Osogbo, they mobilised and stormed where he was being held.
“The two groups engaged in a fight. There were exchanges of gunshots. Police also intervened.
But two people lost their lives. The fight later spread to Isale Aro, Gbaemu area of Osogbo where two passersby were hit by bullets. They were injured and taken to a hospital.’’
Contacted to comment on the matter, the state police spokesperson, Yemisi Opalola, confirmed that two persons lost their lives during the incident, adding that the hoodlums involved also exchange gunshots with the police.
“They even attacked operatives. Normalcy has returned to the affected areas,” Opalola said.