The Commissioner of Police in Osun State, CP Ibrahim Gotan, has urged the warring communities in Irepodun and Orolu Local Government Areas of the state to embrace peace and allow development to thrive.

Gotan made this appeal during an on-the-spot assessment visit to stakeholders in Erin-Osun, Ilobu, and Ifon-Osun, which have been locked in a long-standing land dispute that has claimed lives and destroyed property worth billions of naira.

Addressing leaders in the three towns, the police boss said his mission was to gather firsthand information from all parties and recommend lasting solutions to the government, stressing that peace must take priority over grudges for the communities to progress.

He said, “There will be no development without peace. You are all brothers and sisters, descendants of Oduduwa. Let us forgive and forget what happened in the past and work together for a better Osun State and Nigeria.”

Gotan assured residents of increased police presence in the flashpoints, warning that troublemakers who profit from crises would no longer have a free hand.

In his remarks, the Olufon of Ifon, Oba Peter Akinyooye, pledged support for security agencies, describing Ifon as a peaceful town that has always accommodated people of diverse ethnic backgrounds, questioning why disputes should persist among kinsmen who share the same language and heritage.

Also speaking, Chief Kayode Olawale, representing the Elerin of Erin-Osun, Oba Yusuf Kolawole Omoloye Oyagbodun II, promised cooperation with the government’s peace committee, saying that community leaders had consistently appealed to youths to avoid taking laws into their own hands despite provocations.

Similarly, Barrister Adegoke Olusola, who represented the Olobu of Ilobu, Oba Ashiru Olaniyan, commended the police command but appealed for caution in handling petitions, alleging that indiscriminate arrests based on frivolous complaints had led to innocent people being jailed.