The National President Igosun Progressive, Barrister Rafiu Oyeyemi Balogun, said no herdsman was found dead at Igosun in Oyun Local Government Area of Kwara State.
In a statement released on Monday, Balogun debunked the news that was widely reported by online media alleging that a herdsman was killed and dismembered by an unknown Ritualist in Igosun Community on 17th July, 2021.
He said that the sad news was also reported by several other online bloggers and the incident was wrongly reported to have happened in Igosun town.
The National President of Igosun stated, “Since the ugly incident was widely reported, I have been inundated with calls and text messages, likewise other personalities in the community are not left out.
“In actual fact, we have been subjected to odium, opprobrium and being maligned as a result of the publication which is not true at least to the extent that NO SUCH condemnable and ungodly acts took place in IGOSUN Community on the said date or at any other times.
“We have never in the history of the Community recorded such ugly incidents. The Community is puzzled, bewildered, and utterly flabbergasted that Igosun is being mentioned as to where the incident occurred instead of a village called Gbosun in Offa Local Area of Kwara State where the sad incident actually took place.”
Balogun further said that due to the expensive mistakes committed by the media, some of the sons and daughters of Igosun are now being sarcastically referred to as ritualists.
“I wish to state categorically clear without any equivocation that no act of killing of any human being happened in Igosun Oyun Local Government Area of Kwara State.
“We are worried that the affected media behaved irresponsibly by not verifying their facts before going to press or published any news or report any information as required by the ethics and ethical codes of very respected fourth Estate of the Realm (Journalism),” he expresses.
He, therefore, demanded for a retraction of the offending publication with an apology from Daily Trust, the Republic, and other media that are culpable within 7 days, saying otherwise the Community shall not hesitate to ventilate their grievances in Court.