The son of the Nobel Laureate, Dr Olaokun Soyinka has denied news filtering social media platforms that his father’s Abeokuta ‘Ijegba Republic’ home was attacked by Fulani herdsmen.
Dr Soyinka, in a reaction, said the news was nothing but an attempt to encourage discord.
He said: “This is not true. Please, do not circulate further, but help debunk it. It is an attempt to encourage discord.
“Although some cows were spotted, neither Prof nor his house was attacked by anyone. I confirmed this, directly from him. Kindly do not fall for this attempt, whatever the motive, to further inflame this problematic situation.”
Similarly, two-time minister, Dr Olu Agunloye, also described the report that herdsmen attacked Professor Soyinka’s house in Abeokuta as untrue.
“Herdsmen did not break into his house. There was no attack or attempt to attack the Nobel Laureate. What happened was that herdsmen led their cattle to graze in Professor Soyinka’s unfenced compound again despite his warnings to the herdsmen.
“Professor Soyinka has been living in the forest on the outskirts of Abeokuta in an area designated as GRA since the late 1980s. However, in recent times, herders have desecrated Professor Soyinka’s compound by flooding it with cows. “The professor summoned the herdsmen and sternly warned them to stop the practice. He told them in very clear terms that it was unacceptable.
“However, the herdsmen broke the rule, thinking Professor Soyinka was not at home. When he (Soyinka) accosted them, they fled into a bush, leaving their cows behind. Professor Soyinka reported the incident to the police, who later arrested the herdsmen and their cows.
“We can say categorically that Professor Soyinka and his house were not physically attacked, but his compound was violated by recalcitrant herdsmen who wanted to turn his compound into a grazing field. Professor Soyinka and his family remained safe in their Abeokuta home,” Agunloye said.
The Police in Ogun State also refuted social media reports that the home of Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, located in the Kemta area of Abeokuta, the state capital, was attacked by suspected herdsmen
The police spokesperson, Abimbola Oyeyemi, in a statement said contrary to the reports, the incident was triggered by a stray cow sighted “within the vicinity of Soyinka’s home”.
“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,” Oyeyemi said.
The police spokesperson said, “one Kazeem, an indigene of Ijeun, who is into the cattle business, was informed by his cattle herder, Awalu Muhammed, that one of the cows was missing”.
“While Muhammed was searching for the stray cow around Kemta Estate where Soyinka’s house is located,” the police said, “Soyinka saw him and ordered him to move the cow away from the vicinity.”
Oyeyemi said the DPO of 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 were questioned and properly profiled,” the police said.
The false story that suspected Fulani herdsmen attacked the home of Prof. Wole Soyinka in Abeokuta, Ogun State had bombarded the social media. The herdsmen reportedly arrived Soyinka’s home, at Abeokuta in the afternoon on an attack mode, but the police were said to have arrived the house on time to arrest the attackers.