The Alara of Ara in the Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Oba Adebayo Fatoba, has narrated how he managed to escape from gunmen who attacked and killed two of his colleagues last Monday.
Fatoba, along with two other monarchs from the state – Onimojo of Imojo Ekiti in Oye LG and the Elesun of Esun Ekiti in Ajoni, Ikole Local Government of Ekiti State, were attacked by the gunmen while returning from a meeting.
The other two monarchs were killed by the assailants while Fatoba was lucky to have escaped.
Narrating the ordeal to Awikonko TV Live, in a video seen late Sunday, Fatoba stated that the community had sought permission from the state police to tackle herders who have been attacking the communities.
Fatoba stated, “We have a security committee in the local government. There are 25 communities in Ikole Local Government Area. When Fulani people started coming in to graze and do all sorts, we got permission from the police to assist them. This was about three or four years ago. I was made the chairman of the committee. One of my counterparts who was killed (Onimojo of Imojo) was the deputy and we used to go everywhere. We volunteered to do it for Yoruba land.
“So it happened that they came to check some people’s houses between Aiyebode and Aiyedun communities. They killed someone there. Then, my deputy called to tell me that these people were back. It was on a Sunday so I told him that I would come on Monday.”
The monarch stated that while they were in motion, he was busy reading something on his phone before realising that the vehicle had stopped.
“I was reading something on my phone when I suddenly felt that the driver slammed the brakes. As we looked up, we saw guns pointed at us. If they were kidnappers, they would ask us to get down, raise our hands, and so on.
“I wish I could show you my body, you would have seen the cuts,” Fatoba stated, adding that he still feels the pain from the attack.
The monarch narrated that he managed to escape from the scene, stating, “I noticed that they didn’t understand English. They were with a big machete and they had other ones too. I saw an AK-47, a pump-action gun, and a locally-made one.”
The monarch recalled that as he wanted to get out of the vehicle, one of the assailants tried to hit his head with a weapon but he used the door to protect himself so it was the door that was hit.”
“It was a war zone,” he added.
According to Fatoba, he could hear the sound of gunshots behind him as he ran.
“People who said that I disappeared, I want them to know that it is a lie. I ran to the security guards that we put in that area because it had been a hotspot. I wanted to get to them,” he said.
He said when he got to one of the security guards, he asked him to shoot into the air but the gun jammed.
Fatoba further added that due to fear, the guards couldn’t come near them for a rescue operation.
When asked how the driver was not killed, he said, “They didn’t concentrate on the driver. He wore a shirt and had a small stature. They only collected the car key. They killed the others,” he said ruling out notions that he and his driver escaped with the aid of spiritual power.
The monarch added, “What happened was that they first came to me. Two came out from my right side and one from the left side. They came aggressively. The moment they collected the car key from my driver, they left him. He prostrated on the floor with his hands on the ground.
“As for me, I fought my way out and they shot. I heard the gunshots. God didn’t allow the shots to hit me. By the time I looked back, my colleagues were on the ground. I don’t know how that happened. Some cars that were behind us had to reverse.
“I was reading something on my phone at the time, so the attack came as a surprise. I lost my phone but the security guard had the phone number of the monarch whose community was close by. It was the monarch who mobilised more security guards to meet us there.”
Also speaking in his palace in Ara-Ekiti, Oba Fatoba said the two Obas put up a great fight with the assailants but added that they were overpowered with superior firearms.
The recuperating monarch said he was able to escape from the gunmen after several shots were fired at him with no effect, denying the insinuations that he disappeared from the scene.
Recalling how the incident occurred, the Alarm said, ”We have about 25 communities in Ikole and there was a security Committee which I am the chairman and one of the deceased monarchs was the Vice chairman (Elesun of Esun – Ekiti)
“There have been repeated attacks by herders on farmers in our areas because we have large forests here. So when the attack was becoming too frequent on our people we sought permission from the Police to intervene and the permit was granted.
“So, when we received another report of an attack by herders where one of our people was killed between Ayebode and Ayedun recently, we decided to move in. We had visited the community where the incident happened.
“We were discussing the issue of late Onimojo, an associate Professor who was planning to move from Federal University of Technology (FUTA) to Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) on our way back along Irele-Ekiti when these herders appeared from nowhere.
“We never knew they were many, because about three of them pointed guns at us. We tried to struggle with them but they began to fire at us from different directions. Though the bullets did not enter, I realised that they were fully armed with sophisticated weapons, I then broke away from the scene and surged forward to a checkpoint mounted by our local hunters.
“But seeing the high-grade firearms and sporadic gunshots, the local hunters couldn’t advance or challenge the hoodlums. I asked one of our local hunters to return fire but his Dane gun could not work. By the time I looked back, I saw my colleagues Obas in the pool of their blood. It was a very sad experience, my colleagues sacrificed their lives and died for their people.
“I would admit that the bullets did not penetrate through my body but I did not disappear, as being speculated.“
