According to reports, a group of traditional religion worshippers attacked Muslim worshippers who were praying inside a mosque in Ile-Ile, Osun state, injuring four people. The attack reportedly occurred on Thursday evening as the Muslims were preparing for the 4pm Asr prayer.
It was gathered that the traditionalists, who were carrying out the Oro ritual, had announced on Wednesday that the cult would be observed in some parts of Ife between 2pm and 7pm. They warned residents to steer clear of the areas.
However, on Thursday, the traditionalists went to the mosque located at Idi-Omo, Ilare, around 4 pm to disperse the worshippers who were performing ablution inside the perimeter fence of the mosque. The Oro adherents entered the fence and started flogging worshippers with a cane, instructing them to leave the ablution area.
Abdulazeez Bashir, one of the worshippers in the mosque, said that one of the traditionalists even attacked the Imam, Alhaji Abdullateef Adesiyan, as he was coming into the mosque. The Imam was beaten with a cane and hit on the face with a rod. “When I discovered that about five persons have been injured, apart from the Imam of the mosque, I had to call the Ife Chief Imam to intimate him of the happenings,” Bashir said.
He added that the situation could have escalated into a big religious crisis when other Muslims began to gather around, but the traditionalists eventually ran away. The victims were later taken to hospital for treatment.
The Osun Police Command spokesperson, Yemisi Opalola, confirmed the incident and said that an investigation has been launched into the mosque invasion. She added that the police had deployed their men to the scene and normalcy has returned to the area.
Comments are closed.