Police Dismiss Viral Herdsmen Attack Video, Assure Ogun Community of Safety

The Ogun State Police Command has debunked a viral video claiming that herdsmen were preparing to attack Ajebo community in the Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of the state.

Police spokesperson, CSP Omolola Odutola, said in a statement on Friday that there was no credible threat to residents, despite the alarm generated online.

Following the video, Commissioner of Police Lanre Ogunlowo deployed the command’s tactical squad, led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), to assess the settlement. The team, accompanied by operatives of Amotekun, So-Safe Corps, local hunters, the Vigilante Group of Nigeria and the Police Community Relations Committee, combed the area.

Odutola said the operatives found no signs of hostility or arms. According to her, the Fulani settlers identified in Ajebo were established residents who had lived in the area for years.

“The settlers were calm and going about their activities. Children and women were seen in their shelters, and no weapons or suspicious movements were observed,” she said.

She added that the adult men were away in Oyo State on trading trips, which she described as their usual livelihood pattern.

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Police also discovered an extended RUGA section said to have existed for more than a decade. The traditional ruler of the community, Oba Rueben Oluwole, who allocated land to the settlers, has been invited for clarification. The Baale of Alapako, where another small cluster of huts was found, was also summoned.

According to Odutola, security agencies are maintaining surveillance in the forested area roughly 10 kilometres from the main settlement, stressing that the move is precautionary.

She urged residents to remain calm and avoid sharing unverified claims capable of causing panic, noting that the command’s intelligence network is active.

The reassurance comes as farmer-herder tensions continue to trigger anxieties across Nigeria, driven in part by migration, land pressures and environmental factors in northern states.