₦airaland Forum

Armaggedon:
Is it religious?

A recent festival in Ile-Ife, Osun State, turned violent when Isese worshippers were attacked by suspected Muslims, leaving six people injured.

During a telephone conversation with Oba Alamo Obatala, a prominent Isese traditional worshipper in the town, SaharaReporters learned that the incident occurred on January 20, 2025, during a Obatala Festival.

According to Oba Alamon Obatala, the group had announced the festival on the radio for four consecutive days, warning people to stay away from the procession route.

However, despite the warnings, the worshippers were attacked with stones as they passed through the Idio Market and More Area. The attack resulted in six injuries, including a woman who was severely hurt.


Pictures and videos obtained by SaharaReporters show the woman’s head was bloodied after she was allegedly stoned during the attack.

Oba Alamon Obatala claimed that Muslims were behind the attack, citing previous threats and attacks by Islamic extremists in 2022.

He said: “You know the national museum takes custody of all these Orisa (deities) because of stealing. So whenever we want to do our festival, we normally write a letter to the museum to give us the Orisa and we will bring the Orisa to the Obatala temple.

“There is a taboo and divine rule prohibiting Ilare indigenous people from seeing the Orisa during the festival. I am trying to tell you the genesis of this problem. This is where the Muslims are involved. This is where we have been having problems with the Muslims since 2022.

“We have a divine rule prohibiting Ilare indigene from seeing Orisa. Pregnant women are also barred from seeing Orisa. And for that reason, we always notify people during the festival to stay away from us.

“So on this particular day during the 2022 festival, we were attacked by some Muslims. That was the first attack that was reported and since then the Muslims and their leaders have been threatening us not to do any Isese festival in Ile-Ife. Thank God, we resolved that incident that day.

“But since 2022, the Muslims have been stopping us from doing our Isese rites in Ile-Ife and this is not possible.

“Now, I will summarize it back to this year. It was the day we were carrying Orisa Obatala to his first settlement. The was on January 20, 2025. We called that day ‘Ipinwo Day’. Before the festival, we announced it on radio and palace guards also helped in telling the people about it. We did radio announcement for four consecutive days before the festival. The prior notice is to let people know that between this time and that time, there is going to be a festival. And we always do that every year to notify everyone.

“People see us whenever we are doing our rites. We warn people to stay in their houses or shops and not obstruct us because we want to prevent people from hijacking the Orisa. That was the reason for telling people to stay away from us. You know, if people are many, we won’t know who is who again. And they can use that opportunity to steal or hijack the Orisa and if this happens, national museum management will hold us responsible. The Orisa costs millions of naira now.

“For that reason, if you are not an Isese worshipper, you will be asked to stay away. This is why we notify people to stay away from the road we always take to get to the shrine. We always take off from Obatala Temple and pass through Ita Ologun, and then to Idio Market, then to More Area, this is where the police area command is located, that is our movement.

“But that day as we moved past Idio Market, one woman started a problem and it was settled immediately. But as we approached More Area, people started throwing stones at us from under the three and from inside nearby houses. I did not see those stoning us because I was inside a car leading our people. It was those at the back that were hit by the stones.

“Also, when we were coming back at night around 9 pm, the throwing of the stones increased. That was when the woman was attacked. My car, a Toyota Highlander, was also hit. My windscreen was damaged. That was how we were stoned. And there is a high tendency that Muslims were behind it because it is not possible for Isese worshippers to attack us. And we have never had an issue of attack from Christians before. It was late at night, making it difficult to see who was throwing the stones.

“People were wounded a lot but the injury sustained by one elderly woman was the most severe. Six of our members were wounded.”

A prominent Yoruba blogger and member of Muslim community in Yorubaland, Ojulowo Omo Yoruba TV, said there has been no evidence to support that the Isese worshippers were truly stoned by Muslims as alleged.

He said: “We have asked if anyone knows the woman that was attacked or witnessed the attack, or any evidence to show that it was truly a Muslim that threw the stones, or any video to show that Muslims went to the festival to disrupt it.

“We asked them to bring out the evidence, or they should call us. None of the complaints have come forward.

“We have also investigated the matter, but we are yet to see any evidence to show that Muslims attacked the Isese worshippers in Ile-Ife

“There is no genuine Muslim, who understands Islamic teaching that accepts that the Quran is his book of guidance, that accepts Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as his prophet that will attend the Obatala Festival.”

“The attack may be from those who are just bearing Islamic names but not really practising Islam. Please, we should stop spreading misinformation we have not verified to damage the reputation of other people’s religion. This will always lead to more chaos and hatred in the society,” he added.

Efforts to get the Osun Police Command Spokesperson, Yemisi Opalola, for comment on Friday failed.

The Independent Shari’ah Arbitration Panel in Ekiti State has held its first public sitting at the popular Oja Oba Central Mosque, Ado-Ekiti.

This was confirmed to SaharaReporters by residents of the state and Prof. Ishaq Akintola, the Executive Director of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), an Islamic human rights organisation, stating that the inaugural sitting of the Shariah panel was held last Thursday.

SaharaReporters learned further that the panel was presided over by three Kadhis Imam Abdullahi Abdul-Mutolib, Imam Abdulraheem Junaid-Bamigbola, and Dr. Ibrahim Aminullahi-Ogunrinde who entertained two marriage-related disputes.

During the first trial, the head of the panel, Imam Abdullahi Abdul-Mutolib, announced that the dispute between the couple was resolved through a consent judgment.

This resolution was facilitated by earlier interventions from family members, which paved the way for a peaceful settlement.

But the panel adjourned the second trial till January 30 for a continuation hearing. The case involved allegations by a wife accusing her husband of neglecting his marital responsibility.

The panel explained that the adjournment would allow additional investigations to ensure a fair decision.

The sitting of the panel came amid a series of opposition from groups against the implementation of Sharia law in the southwestern region of Nigeria.

One of the groups is the United Kingdom (UK) and Europe branch of Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, otherwise known as UK Afenifere.

The group strongly rejected the clamour by some Muslims for the establishment of Sharia law in the South-West region.

The group cautioned those clamouring for the establishment of Sharia law in the South-West to immediately desist from such acts to avoid disunity amongst the Yoruba people.

The group said Yoruba people are too intelligent and enlightened to be gaslighted along religious divides.

The group added that the predominantly Yoruba South-West is distinct from the Northern region where Muslims are in the majority.

mysticwarrior:
This one na real skull miner chai.

PressMyButton:
That landmark owner thinks he's smart but he's not at all, he wants to act like a Mafia boss but he's still a learner. Going to different states with shorelines and then bribing the Governors to grant his access to the land. I think his lawyer will educate him that All shorelines in the country belongs to the federal government, most importantly, 250m of the shorelines automatically belongs to the FG.
With the greed in his eyes, I do not have any pity for him, I only pity the stakeholders that have invested their money in his business, the banks that borrowed him money knows how to get back their money if he enters trouble with those state governors.

Zulu11zulu:
[Please try to talk to the president to make Enugu Airpot full international and upgrade it to the wold standard thank you Mr governor but do something about bandit and fulani kidnappers who are kidnapping our people.

The Enugu State Government has entered into a strategic partnership with Landmark Group to restore the Nike Lake Resort Hotel to its former glory, aiming to make it a centerpiece of tourism and investment in the state.

The agreement was signed by the Commissioner for Trade and Investment, Mrs. Adaora Chukwu, and the CEO of Landmark Group, Mr. Paul Onwuanibe, during a formal ceremony in Enugu. The initiative is expected to boost the local economy and attract approximately 3 million visitors annually.

Governor Peter Mbah, who witnessed the signing, reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to transforming Enugu into a global destination for investment and tourism. He highlighted the importance of revitalizing Nike Lake Resort as a key government asset and emphasized the need for its efficient management.

“Nike Lake Resort is not just a hotel; it is a symbol of Enugu’s hospitality and tourism potential. This partnership reflects our vision to create an environment that fosters investment, job creation, and economic growth,” Governor Mbah stated.

Mr. Paul Onwuanibe, CEO of Landmark Group, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to manage the iconic hotel and assured the government of delivering world-class services. He also emphasized the potential of the hotel to serve as a major tourism hub, creating employment opportunities for the youth and revitalizing Enugu’s tourism sector.

The revitalization of Nike Lake Resort Hotel is part of Governor Mbah’s broader strategy to position Enugu as a preferred destination for both domestic and international visitors while boosting the state’s economic development.

PressMyButton:
Listen and listen good, NO terrorists, be you ISWAP, Bokoharam, Lukarawa or IPOB, will ever be tolerated to breathe for a second anywhere in the SW. Terrorism can never survive in the SW, how you wan take do am?. All Northern Serikis and Emirs will even fish them out by themselves and hand them over to the security. Eze Ndigbo will also by themselves hand over any ipob terrorists to the security. Because they know that SW authorities has zero tolerance for terrorism.
About four or five years ago, some Boko boys who fled the north ran to Lagos but they were picked up like beans by DSS, because the Northern leader where they ran to hide among the northerns identified them, profiled them and reported to the Lagos authorities. Where do you want to hide in the SW?, even the forests will be too hot for you. SW is not a place where some illiterate terrorists lock up their elders at home on a particular day of the week for seven years, it will NEVER happen in the SW.

helinues:
We will soon have borders across the South West states. That's the only thing that will curb the influx not just the bandits but unnecessary movement to the region

zero8zero:
Some claimed it was palm oil from Abia, some claimed it was coal from Enugu that was used to build PH.