Operatives of the Oyo State Police Command have discovered the remains of a man who had been missing for nearly two years, buried in a shallow grave, after arresting a suspect in a fresh shooting incident linked to the protracted boundary dispute between Oyo and Osun states. The victim, identified only as Segun, was allegedly killed in 2024 during renewed violence in the troubled border communities of Iyana-Offa, Iyanagbo, and Oke-Oba Parapo, located along the Oyo-Osun boundary near Iwo.
Arrest Leads to Confession and Discovery
The breakthrough came when police arrested Rabiu Yusuf, a suspected gunman, over a new shooting in the same area. During interrogation, Yusuf confessed to participating in Segun's killing and revealed the location of the shallow grave where the body had been concealed. The Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, Ayanlade Olayinka, disclosed this in an interview with journalists on Wednesday, stating that the suspect's confession solved the long-standing disappearance.
“An individual identified as Segun was killed in 2024 by this suspect and three others who are still at large. They shot him, concealed his body and buried him in a shallow grave,” Mr Olayinka said. He added that security agencies had conducted extensive searches after the killing, but all efforts to locate the body proved abortive. “At that time, the Commissioner of Police, together with the Deputy Governor of Oyo State, visited the scene, but all efforts to locate the body of the deceased proved abortive, until recently when this same suspect shot at a man whom he alleged to have attacked him in the same community, bothering on land, and he was arrested.”
Exhumation and Identification
After the suspect's confession, the police secured a court order to exhume the remains. “The body was properly exhumed and deposited in the mortuary. The family has also identified it as that of their son whom they had been searching for for years,” Mr Olayinka said. Police also arrested a second suspect accused of supplying the ammunition used in the killing. Three other suspects remain at large, and investigations are ongoing to apprehend them and determine the full circumstances of the incident.
Suspect Claims Self-Defense
Speaking to journalists while in police custody, Rabiu Yusuf admitted shooting the deceased but claimed the killing was a result of recurring attacks from the opposing community. According to him, residents of Iyana-Offa frequently attacked his community at Oke-Oba Parapo. “The people from Offa used to come and attack us every time,” he said. “I was sleeping that day when they came. About seven of them stayed at the entrance of our village while two entered on motorcycles.” He alleged that one of the attackers recognized him and opened fire. “He kept shouting, ‘that is him, that is him,’ and shot me in the chest. I survived the attack. Later, they came again and that was why I shot him.”
Long-Running Boundary Dispute
The killing is linked to the long-running boundary disputes between communities in Oyo and Osun states, where disagreements over land ownership have repeatedly triggered violent clashes, destruction of property, and loss of lives. The crisis has drawn repeated intervention from both state governments and security agencies. In previous outbreaks of violence, senior government officials, including the Oyo deputy governor and top police authorities, visited the affected communities in efforts to restore peace. Despite those interventions, tensions have persisted, with sporadic attacks continuing to threaten residents living along the disputed boundary.
Police said investigations are ongoing to apprehend the three remaining suspects allegedly involved in the killing and determine the full circumstances surrounding the incident.
