What Police says about Wole Soyinka’s Home Fulani herdsmen attack – The Ogun State Police Command Wednesday put a lie to a trending online video suggesting that the Kemta Estate, Abeokuta home of Noble Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, had been besieged by Fulani herdsmen.
The rumoured invasion had caused panic in the state capital, Wednesday.
But putting the record straight, a statement by the state’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the intrusion of Soyinka’s home was just a case of a strayed, missing cow.
Oyeyemi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, stated, “The attention of Ogun State Police Command has been drawn to a video circulating on the social media, about a purported attack of Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka’s house by Fulani herdersmen and the command wishes to set the record straight as follows:
“Yesterday, Tuesday 9th of February 2021, one Kazeem Sorinola, an indegine of Ijeun, Abeokuta, who is into cattle business was 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 got 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.
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“He there and then asked the Fulani man to move the cattle away from the vicinity”.
Oyeyemi further recounted that the Divisional Police Officer, Kemta Division, who heard about the incident, quickly moved to the scene with a patrol team and the owner of the cows was invited to come with the Fulani man in charge of the cattle.
“The duo was questioned and properly profiled. The entire place was inspected by the DPO and it was established that it was just a case of strayed cow, as nothing was damaged or tampered with”.
He said It was, therefore, a thing of surprise to see a video trending on the social media “that the respected Professor’s house was invaded by Fulani herdersmen with a view to attacking or killing 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,” he stressed.
The police image maker said the Commissioner of Police, Edward Awolowo Ajogun, had been to the scene for on-the- spot assessment, and that he personally interviewed the owner of the cattle, Kazeem Sorinola, as well as the Fulani man who is in charge of the cattle “and their statements showed clearly that the mischievous narrative of invasion is nothing to take seriously.
“The command hereby wishes to warn the fake news peddler to desist from it as they may be made to feel the weight of the law.
“It is an offence for anybody to originate or help in circulating fake news,” Oyeyemi reminded.