One person was killed while many others sustained injuries at the Osun festival in Osogbo on Friday.
The middle-aged deceased, identified as Olota Faasi, was killed near a popular pedestrian bridge known as Gada Amititi, inside the Osun groove.
Witnesses said Faasi’s killers shot him many times and also macheted him to ensure he died.
Those who knew the late man said he was a dealer in Indian hemp and had a misunderstanding with some touts at the Osun festival.
This year’s edition of the Osun festival was marred by confusion and controversy, particularly with the allegation by the Osun Chief Priest, Chief Layi Adigun, that the real Osun goddess had been stolen and sold.
Many members of the royal families in Osogbo, who were supposed to play major roles in the festival, stayed away from the event this year as they insisted they did not recognize the town’s embattled traditional ruler, Jimoh Olanipekun, as the Ataoja of Osogbo.
The case on the Osogbo Obaship controversy is at the Supreme Court and parties are awaiting the court’s verdict on the matter.
It would be recalled that Olanipekun sacked the Chief Priest of Osun Osogbo and appointed a man alleged to be an Imam as the new priest, a decision that was widely condemned.
The sacked Chief Priest ran to the Osun State High Court, Osogbo, and sought a mandatory order of the court to return him as the Chief Priest. The court, presided over by Justice A. O. Ayoola, granted his prayer pending the determination of the substantive suit.
Some of the Osun devotees who attended this year’s festival expressed concern over the crisis rocking the Osun temple.
There was heavy deployment of security operatives at the festival to forestall a breakdown of law and order. But this did not deter some hoodlums from causing mayhem, particularly at the Osun groove, where Faasi was killed.
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