“I could hear the noise of my father and the elephant, I ran back into the village to call for help, but by the time we got back, we found him with his intestines all out, one of his legs was broken as well as bruises and cuts all over his body,” 16-year-old Musa Korede recounted soberly.
Korede, the eldest child of late Musa Yahaya Kala, was with his father in the forest when the tragic incident happened on Monday, 28 of July 2025.
The 49-year-old father of five was gruesomely mauled by wandering elephants in Itasin community in the Ijebu East local government area of Ogun State.
While some residents identified the victim as a farmer, other sources described him as a logger falling trees within the elephant’s domain.
Korede, recounting the incident, told DAILY POST that two elephants attacked them just as they were about to begin the day’s work.
He noted that on seeing the elephants, they ran in separate directions trying to hide.
“I found a safe place to hide. However, I began to hear the noise of my father and the elephant that ran after him. Shortly after, I found a path and decided to go see the situation with my father. In the process, I stumbled upon one of the residents of the village and we headed back to the farm.
“When we got there, we called his name to find out where he was, but he answered faintly and was too weak to stand up.
“Again, we saw the elephants approaching us. We had to run for safety back into the village to call for the help of the other residents of the village. But by the time we got to the farm and on locating him, his intestines were all out, one of his legs was broken,” he narrated,
Korede stated that by the time his father was moved back into the village, he had already given up the ghost.
A community in fear
Itasin, Imobi, a community known for fishing and farming, has become a nightmare owing to the fierce attacks by elephants.
DAILY POST learnt that the elephants which came into the community seven years ago were at first friendly; they were said to roam around the community eating bananas and plantain until the sudden change.
Now, the sound of elephants rumbling through the forest sends shivers down the spine of residents as they become prey while going about in search of their daily livelihood. This has added to their list of worries as they were battling with bad roads, poor infrastructure, portable water, and lack of electricity for the last 10 years.
The elephants, estimated to be around 100 in number, have become a menace, making it difficult for farmers to tend to their farms and fishermen to engage in fishing.
DAILY POST gathered that the community had continued to face destruction of crops, fishing gear, and property since 2018, with the most recent incident resulting in the death of Musa Kalamu.
The battle from 2018 till date
A widow and resident in the community, Oluwaremi Oluwafunke, described the elephant attacks as unbearable.
She disclosed that in 2018, over N250,000 invested in her farm went down the drain as the elephant destroyed the farm a day after the crops were planted.
Her words, “What these elephants are doing to our community is unbearable. In 2018, I invested over N250,000 in farmland using a high-interest loan. Just a day after the laborers completed their work, the elephants came and destroyed everything.
”This year again, I have put my money and effort into the farm, and the elephants have returned to destroy it all over again. I am a widow, and this is my only means of survival”, she cried out.
The widow insisted that they had no other home apart from Itasin town, no other source of livelihood apart from farming and can’t survive without working.
Similarly, a palm kernel farmer, identified as Ajumosu Odunaike, lamented that while they plant crops on their various farmlands, they are unable to harvest them as the elephants chase them back home.
She added that the community is no longer safe as even trying to fetch firewood for cooking had become dangerous.
“What I want to say is that we plant crops on our farms, but we never get to harvest them because the elephants eat everything. We, the women of Itasin town, survive mainly through palm kernel farming, which is how we feed our children. But these elephants do not allow us to stay on our farms, they chase us back home.
“Even simple things, like going to pick firewood for cooking, have become dangerous; we also cannot process our cassava into garri because we are too afraid to go to the farms”.
She disclosed that not long ago, the elephants killed a man, leaving his wife as a widow and his children fatherless.
I cannot work actively as I used to – Survivor laments
Bello Kunle, a survivor of an elephant attack in the community, lamented that since the attack, he cannot work actively as he used to.
Kunle, a wood cutter and farmer, was attacked and injured on the 15th of March, 2023.
He argued that the narrative that elephants are peaceful and do not throw the first attack was false, saying “I didn’t throw a first attack at it, but it attacked me.
“That night, I went hunting for snails and bush meat with a friend; while on our way back, we were attacked by it and I was seriously injured, leaving me with serious bruises and cuts all over my body.
“Since then, I cannot work actively like I used to, we all know that wood cutting and farming jobs are hard work and I have two wives, I do not want to lose them to another man, I also have children to cater for,” he added.
Another victim, Kazeem Badmus, a chainsaw operator, said he was cutting trees in the forest when he got attacked by four elephants last year.
Badmus revealed that he had to undergo surgical procedures to survive the attack and was at home recuperating for almost a year until about two months ago when he got back to work.
Come to our aid, relocate the elephants – Community members beg govt
The Adele Oba of the community, High Chief Adedoyin Ajayi, has urged the Ogun State government to look into their plight and save them from the deadly attack.
He explained that while business activities in the community had ceased, residents were running into debts due to their inability to pay back loans collected for businesses.
He begged that the elephants should be relocated to restore sanity in the community, adding that the children of the deceased should be looked after.
“The government should come and relocate those elephants, if it can be turned into a zoo or whatever, no problem.
“We know they were once friendly, we co-existed with them because we felt it would make this place productive, but as it is, the government should just come and take them away so our people can go about their normal activities.
“The family of the deceased should be assisted, especially in taking care and bringing up the children because he was the bread winner of the family,” he said.
Meanwhile, Owode Ifedolapo, a member of the Ogun State House of Assembly, who represents the Ijebu East Constituency, encouraged the State Government, pertinent wildlife and environmental authorities to promptly examine the incidents and put preventive measures in place to avoid a recurrence.
Ifedolapo demanded that a conservationist development plan be put in place to regulate the boundaries between people and wildlife, while protecting lives, properties and maintaining an ecological balance.
He said, “While we understand the pain and confusion this incident has caused, we urge our people to remain calm. The government is being engaged to take swift and lasting action.
“This tragedy highlights the urgent need for coordinated efforts between conservation agencies, local authorities, and the state government.
“Our communities should not live in fear of wildlife attacks. We must strike a balance between conservation and safety,” Ifedolapo asserted.
Conservation areas are not farmlands – Ogun govt insist
Meanwhile, the Ogun State Commissioner for Forestry, Oludotun Taiwo, has said the place in question is a conservation area and not farmland.
He disclosed that the forest, which spans over 6,000 hectares, was not a farm settlement, and that people were not expected to reside there.
Taiwo, in an interview with DAILY POST, revealed that despite several warnings, sensitization, and even demolition of illegal settlements, people kept going back there.
He explained that elephants were nomadic animals, hence the reason they move within the forest for food and water.
“It’s a very sad incident. But this very area is a conservation area, the government approved it for the conservation of elephants.
“Conservation areas meant strictly for wildlife, especially elephants.
“Unfortunately, some people still go in there for illegal activities like logging. The man in question was trying to move the illegal logs that he fell into the river so that they can transport them to neighboring states.
WHe’s not actually a farmer and they have been doing these activities for long.
“We’ve done a lot of sensitization in that area. We erected signboards, built barriers, and even demolished illegal settlements, but people keep going back.
“These elephants are not aggressive by nature. They only fight back when provoked. That’s why we keep educating the public not to confront them,” he insisted.
The commissioner, however, sympathized with the family of the deceased, called for calm among residents and assured that the state government will take all necessary steps to prevent a recurrence.
He advised the residents to remain vigilant and comply with rules and regulations guiding activities around forest reserves.
