Residents of Ibafo in Ogun State were enveloped by trepidation on Tuesday as violence broke out as soldiers and suspected cultists clashed.
The ever-busy and boisterous Ibafo market and bus stop were deserted as people fled to avoid being caught in the skirmish.
According to PUNCH, one soldier was shot during the clash.
The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident.
Commercial vehicles plying the route also stopped offloading passengers at the Ibafo bus stop owing to the volatile and tense atmosphere in the area
Trouble began when internet fraudsters clashed in the area over a yet-to-be-ascertained issue.
While one of the fraudsters invited cultists to defend him, the other was said to have called soldiers.
“The cultists first came and later, the soldiers arrived in a private car. The cultists stoned the soldiers and in the process, someone was shot,” PUNCH quoted an eyewitness said.
Another trader confirmed that one of the soldiers shot his colleague while trying to disperse the cultists.
“We all ran away when the soldiers’ patrol vehicle came. We thought they came to attack us,” the trader added.
When contacted on the telephone, Oyeyemi explained that calm had returned to the area.
He denied reports that Hausa traders stabbed a soldier to death in the area, noting that the shot soldier was immediately rushed to the hospital.
However, Oyeyemi could not ascertain if the shot soldier survived.
He said, “There was a crisis between Yahoo Boys. One went to bring cultists and the other was said to invite soldiers to defend him. A soldier was shot and rushed to the hospital.
“No one reported the case at the police station. The soldiers were said to initially come in their private car before a patrol team came and left afterwards.
“Police have visited the area and everywhere is calm as we speak.”