By Ndudi Anyim
The Ogun State Police Command, has denied an alleged invasion of the Kemta estate home of Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka by Fulani herdsmen.=
A video of the said attack which allegedly happened on Tuesday, had gone viral on social media, as many condemned the act, calling for an end to open grazing.
However the spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, declared the video a calculated attempt by mischief makers to cause panic.
In a statement detailing the true state of the incident, Oyeyemi said a cow strayed to the estate and the Fulani herdsman had gone in search of the cow.
The statement read: “ The attention of Ogun State Police Command has been drawn to a video circulating on social media about a purported attack of Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole soyinka’s house by Fulani herdsmen and the command wishes to set the record straight as follows.
“ On Tuesday, February 9, one Kazeem Sorinola, an indigene of Ijeun Abeokuta who is into cattle business said to have been informed by a young Fulani man, Awalu Muhammad who is taking care of the cattle that one of the cows had gone missing.
“ While the Fulani man was searching for the stray cow around Kemta estate, where Prof Wole soyinka’s house is located, the Prof. himself who was going out then saw the Fulani man with some of the cows and he came down to ask where the man was heading to with the cows.
“ He there and then asked the Fulani man to move the cattle away from the vicinity. The Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Kemta Division, who heard about the incident quickly moved to the scene with patrol team and the owner of the cows was invited to come with the Fulani man in charge of the cattle.
“ The duo were questioned and properly profiled. The entire place was inspected by the DPO and it was established that it was just a case of stray cow as nothing was damaged or tampered with.It was therefore a thing of surprise to see a video trending on social media that the respected Professor Wole Soyinka’s house was invaded by Fulani herdsmen with the view to attack or kill him.
“ The video is nothing but a calculated attempt by mischief makers to cause panic in the mind of people. There is nothing like invasion of Prof. Wole soyinka’s house or any form of attack on his person.”
Oyeyemi said the Commissioner of Police (CP), Edward Ajogun has been to the scene for on the spot assessment, and had personally interviewed the owner of the cattle, Kazeem Sorinola, as well as the Fulani man who is in charge of the cattle.
He warned peddlers of fake news to desist from it as they may be made to face the wrath of the law. “ It is an offence for anybody to originate or help in circulating fake news, the command will therefore, henceforth be tracing and fishing out those deliberately dishing out fake information to members., ” he stated.