Fatal clash erupts, seven homes destroyed after man dances with female in Edo

A violent dispute in Ogute-Oke community, Estako East Local Government Area of Edo State, has resulted in the beheading of one person and the destruction of seven houses, all stemming from a quarrel over a girl.

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The incident occurred shortly after the community's Olimi festival and a party to celebrate the burial of a prominent chief in the locality, where tensions ultimately boiled over into violence.

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Following the outbreak of violence, several community members fled to avoid arrest by police, seeking to escape the chaos that had erupted in the usually peaceful area.

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A source, speaking on condition of anonymity on Monday, revealed that trouble began during the party when a man became enraged upon seeing another man dancing with the girl he had brought to the celebration.

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The situation escalated rapidly, with the angry individual allegedly using a cutlass to inflict a fatal neck wound on the other man, leading to his death.

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Seeking revenge, relations of the deceased launched a retaliatory attack on the suspected killer's community, burning seven houses to the ground as panicked residents fled to avoid being lynched.

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Edo Commissioner for Labour and Productivity, Godwin Eshieshie, a native of the community, confirmed that elders have intervened in the matter to calm tensions and restore order.

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Eshieshie explained that the violence began when a man became agitated after another man started dancing with a girl he was interested in, leading to a deadly confrontation in which a bystander was fatally injured with a cutlass.

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The commissioner acknowledged that the families of the deceased then carried out reprisal attacks, burning houses in the community, and noted that elders have since worked to calm the situation, with plans for him to visit the community as soon as possible.

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Meanwhile, attempts to reach Edo Police spokesman, Eno Ikoedem, for comment were unsuccessful at the time of filing the report.

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In a separate incident, gunmen attacked a village in Plateau State's Qua'an-Pan Local Government Area in January, killing seven people and injuring several others in the Bong village of Doemak District.

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The assailants in the Plateau State incident launched a house-to-house attack, deliberately targeting women, children, and the elderly in a brutal and indiscriminate assault.