The Ogun State Police Command has dismissed a viral video suggesting that herdsmen were plotting an attack in Ajebo, Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area, urging residents to remain calm and ignore the false alarm.
The Command’s spokesperson, CSP Omolola Odutola, in a statement on Friday, said the Commissioner of Police, Lanre Ogunlowo, immediately dispatched a tactical team—led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations)—to the area to verify the claim.
According to her, the joint security team, which included operatives of Amotekun, So-Safe Corps, local hunters, the Vigilante Group of Nigeria, and the Police Community Relations Committee, found no indication of a planned attack.
Odutola explained that contrary to the viral footage, the Fulani settlers in Ajebo were neither new arrivals nor hostile, but long-established residents living peacefully within the community.
She noted that women and children were seen in temporary shelters, with no weapons or suspicious activity detected.
“No adult male was present during the visit, as the men had reportedly travelled to Oyo State for trading, which aligns with their usual economic routine,” she said, adding that the settlement also connects to a long-standing RUGA extension that has existed for over a decade.
She disclosed that the traditional ruler of the community, Oba Rueben Oluwole—said to have authorised the land allocation to the settlers—has been invited for clarification.
The Baale of Alapako, where another cluster of Fulani huts was identified, has also been summoned for a meeting with the Commissioner of Police.
Odutola added that security personnel are maintaining surveillance around the forested areas about 10km from the community, stressing that the precautionary presence is not due to any active threat.
“The settlers were found unarmed and coexisting peacefully. We urge residents to avoid spreading unverified information capable of causing panic,” she said.
The Command reiterated that intelligence and security measures remain in place to avert any breakdown of law and order.
Concerns over farmer-herder tensions have persisted across the country, particularly as environmental pressures in northern states continue to push herders southward, heightening competition over land and grazing routes.
In January 2025, PUNCH Online reported that Yewa North/Imeko-Afon lawmaker, Gboyega Isiaka, raised alarm over alleged herdsmen incursion into farmlands in Araromi-Ibese, lamenting the destruction of crops and disruption of livelihoods.