By Jimoh Ahmed, Ikare Akoko

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More facts have emerged about the chieftaincy crisis that almost thrown Ikare Akoko into a dull scale communal war on Tuesday.
The Hope findings revealed that the started ensured over the Olokoja chieftaincy title on Monday evening when the former Olokoja, Chief Ogunyeme who was removed at the instance of the Olukare of Ikare, Oba Akadiri Saliu Momoh IV for what the Olukare called disloyalty and insubordination, tried to preside over the traditional ‘Ajo” (Meetings of Chiefs and elders) in the community.
It was gathered that the presence of Ogunyeme at the meeting was not accepted by the faction loyal to the new Olokoja, Ade Bada, a lecturer at the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo.
According to a source, the insistence of the faction loyal to Bada that it is the new Olokoja that must preside at the meeting did not go down well with the other faction who sharply disagreed on this and in the process, crisis erupted leading to the vandalization of the house of one of the two chiefs laying claim to the Olokoja stool.
This later escalated as it resulted into further vandalization and destruction of property and commercial activities at the Oja Oba Market while there was sporadic gunshots.
In the process, parked vehicles were touched as some had their windscreens smashed.
The arrival of the men of the Nigerian Army and the police later doused the tension.
Hostilities however returned on Tuesday morning as the two factions took to the streets again making the people to scamper for safety.
Several people were shot in the process while residents went indoors for the safety of their lives.
A source confirmed to The Hope that a middle aged man, simply called Bobo was shot on his forehead but could not say if he died.
In the same vein, commercial activities were paralysed as banks did not open while those travelling could not do so. School children also returned to their various houses.
Meanwhile, those who sustained gunshot wounds have been taken to the State Specialist Hospital, Ikare Akoko for treatment, a development which was confirmed by the hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Dr Ayodele Ogunlade.
Efforts to get some of the gunshot victims to speak was not successful while attempt to get the OLUKARE to talk was not successful as he was said to be attending to peace initiaves to end the crisis.
Similarly attempts to speak with the Commander of the Ikare Area Police Command and the Divisional Police Officer for Ikare Police Division failed as they too were said to be busy attending to the matter.
Meanwhile the situation has been doused as men of the Nigerian Army are now in the town to maintain peace and order.