At least three persons have been confirmed dead as rival cult groups clashed during the Osun Osogbo festival.
NIGERIACRIME also gathered that no fewer 12 other person were wounded when fighting broke out during the grand finale of the acclaimed international traditional festival.
As of press time, the identities of the deceased and the reason for the clash have not been ascertained.
The hoodlums who came in large numbers and were brandishing different types of weapon, also disrupted the festivities, creating panic among residents and tourists around the Jaleyemi and Isale-Osun areas of Osogbo.
The Chairman of the Hunters Group of Nigeria, Ahmed Nureni, who confirmed the incident to newsmen in the state, condemned the attitude of the hoodlums.
He said three bodies were sighted around the grove while 10 members of the group were also injured.
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Furthermore, Nureni revealed that the office of Hunters and Forest Security Service located along the road was attacked and vandalised with its personnel injured.
“We sighted three dead bodies, though we don’t know their identities. Meanwhile, our office in the Jaleyemi area was also vandalised and, in the process, the ten personnel were injured.”
Speaking on the development, the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, while addressing members of the Oodua Peoples Congress frowned at the development.
Adams, who asked for adequate security arrangement for the event in subsequent years, described the cult clash as an invasion of the Osun grove aimed at tarnishing the international status of the Osun Osogbo festival.
“It is unfortunate that cultists and miscreants have been taking advantage of the hospitality of the festival to create a platform for cult rivalry, which the Osun goddess abhors and we must collectively stop the trend.
“This is an opportunity for Osun and Nigeria to attract tourism development. Osun-Osogbo is renowned globally and we must protect and project it to the whole world.”
Adams warned that nothing must hinder the advancement of the festival and Yoruba tradition.
Witnesses, however, claim the violence started when a member of the Hunters Group of Nigeria allegedly struck an OPC leader with a charmed ring.