4 hours ago
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Seven persons have been confirmed dead while six others sustained injuries in a clash between cocoa farmers and suspected hoodlums in Gbelemoti community, Ovia South-West Local Government Area (LGA) of Edo State.
The clash which happened on Thursday and Friday also left many houses burnt during the clash in the locality.
It was also gathered that trouble started on Thursday when cocoa farmer of Ikale extraction hired some vigilantes to guard his cocoa farm which had been under serious poaching by thieves suspected be Ijaw boys.
The vigilantes while guarding the farm reportedly killed four thieves who came to the farmer to steal produce.
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It was gathered that the crisis escalated on Friday as hoodlums suspected to sympathetic to the victims of the Thursday clash mobilised to the cocoa community in reprisal attack.
A community source who craved anonymity said: “An Ikale man hired vigilante to guard his farm on account of stealing. The boys were reportedly stealing the produce when they were killed.
“On Friday morning, there was a reprisal attack by those sympathetic to the incident and some people were killed and houses burnt”
The Edo State Command’s spokesperson, CSP Moses Yamu, said the police had evacuated the corpses to the morgue.
He said investigation into the cause of the clash had commenced.
Yamu said the commissioner of police warned members of the public to always channel their grievances to the appropriate authority, rather than taking laws in to their hands.
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