Ibrahim Yillah: Narrowly escaped death
Tussle over land control…
ONE KILLED IN COLD BLOOD!
It emerged at the weekend that the struggle to control a family land has resulted in the death of a young man, Alimamy Yillah, leaving a heavy pandemonium at Kamgbor Foroad Village and its clustered communities of Soria, Lutti, Roshinor and Rokon, etc, at Samu Chiefdom in the Kambia District, Northwest of the country.
Corpse of deceased, Alimamy Yillah
The lethal incident reportedly occured on Friday, 2nd March, 2018, a week the country is settled to conduct general elections on 7th March.
We gathered that in December 2015, the substantive controller of the said family land, Mr. Mohamed Yillah, summoned his younger brothers, cousins and other members of his extended family, including, Pa Adikali Sankoh, Abubakarr Sankoh, S. M Sankoh, Adikali Bubu, Foday Sheku, Samuel Sankoh, to a meeting. He told them that since he was now getting old, and, not active any longer, his eldest son, Alimamy Yillah, would now help him champion the affairs of their stretch of land in Kamgbor Foroad.
This decision by Mr. Yillah reportedly did not seem to bode well with some members of the family, especially the supposed successor and his backers, fearing Alimamy was going to have a stranglehold on the land and eventually become the imposed successor after his father. They, therefore, demanded Mr. Yillah to relinquish the leadership to his supposed rightful successor, the second eldest of the family as is usually the conventional way, if he was no longer capable of effectively handling the affairs of the land.
We understand the meeting ended in commotion without arriving at any amicable conclusion, leaving scars of malice in the minds, thus setting in a cold war in the Yillah Family.
Reports indicate on 2nd March, 2018, Alimamy Yillah was accompanied by his younger brother identified as Ibrahim Yillah, Mr. Mohamed Yillah’s second eldest son, to tap palm kernel for onward palm oil extraction at an area of the land where palm trees cluster.
In the bush on that fateful day, this medium was intimated, a group of men armed with sticks and machetes, alleged to be jointly led by malcontented Abubakarr Sankoh and S. M. Sankoh, violently attacked the two brothers, leaving Alimamy Yillah lying in a pool of blood after being chopped a number of times.
From various accounts, we learned that Ibrahim too was nearly beheaded but narrowly escaped the assailants’ wrath by a dint of luck. The townspeople were alerted about the gruesome occurrence, and rushed to the scene of trouble, taking away the helpless Alimamy.
“Alimamy was half dead, lying in a pool of his own blood. We took him to the Kambia hospital but it was too late, as he gave up the ghost too soon,” a man claiming to be a close family member told this medium, informing how the irate trouble causers were crisscrossing the village in desperation to capture Ibrahim, alleged to have been declared wanted by hook or by crook as the next in row.
Asked if there has been police presence at Kamgbor Foroad since the incident took place, the said family member said an insignificant number of personnel were spotted in the community, but could not tell if any arrest has been effectuated, as the people had taken to their heels to the bushes for refuge.
Reports say Abubakarr Sankoh and S. M. Sankoh have declared war against any of Mohamed Yillah’s children that dare to take control of the land, insisting that having announced his inability to man the affairs of the land, he must hand it over to the rightful successor, not any of his sons should champion its affairs, calling it an insult to their right, intelligence, and eldership in the family.
We understand from community sources that the Yillah Family has been left in a deep crisis. Tongues are wagging that these two men declaring this sort of land war are widely known for their warlike behaviours. And not just that, they are said to be callous-minded and are feared in all the surrounding villages of Kamgbor Foroad and even beyond, not just for their possession of supernatural powers, but their violent derangement of the mind to kill perceived opponents in no time through the use of black magic they are alleged to be highly skilled in.