From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Three persons have been feared dead and seven trucks vandalised when Yoruba and Hausa clashed at the popular Shasha in Ibadan, Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The crisis reportedly began on Thursday afternoon when a man said to have hailed from Niger Republic had altercations with a pregnant woman in front of her shop. The man was said to have carried tomatoes in a nylon bag, and on getting to the front of the pregnant woman’s shop, the nylon got burst and the tomatoes fell on the ground.
The man picked the good ones and left the spoilt ones on the ground. The pregnant woman accosted the man and insisted that he should pack the remaining tomatoes on the ground, but the man refused. In the process, she grab the man’s cloth and the woman began to be violent against her.
A resident of Shasha, Kola Ridwan: told Saturday Sun, that: “A shoemaker, Sakirundeen Adeola, who was watching the development, left his shop and went to meet the two of them with a view to resolving the crisis. Sakirundeen said no matter what, the man from Niger Republic should not litre the frontage of the woman’s shop. The man got angry and gave the shoemaker a deadly blow. The shoemaker fell and hit his head against a stone. I was told.
“The shoemaker was rushed to the hospital and he died this morning (Friday). This got the friends and family members of the deceased angry and they mobilised to retaliate. The man from Niger Republic lives among the Hausa. Then, the Hausa also mobilise to fight.
“I can confirm to you that no fewer than seven trucks have been vandalised and looted. Also, many houses have been burnt.
“It will interest you to know that the security agencies, including Operation Burst, the police and soldiers have allegedly taken side with the Hausa. They are watching as Hausa have been burning houses belonging to Yoruba in the community.
“The Hausa have been mobilising from Akinyele to Shasha and the arson has continued in Shasha. If care is not taken, the crisis may denegerate to an unimaginable level.”
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer for the state, Olugbenga Fadeyi, said: “It was a clash between two social miscreants in which one of the miscreant, Adeola Sakirundeen, was hit by the other and died later while receiving treatment in an hospital.”
He stated that the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mrs. Ngozi Onadeko; Special Adviser to Governor Seyi Makinde on Security, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, and other police tactical teams have visited the scene for on the spot assessment.
“Massive police deployment and that of the sister security agencies were made to dowse tension. Critical stakeholders have also been consulted to appeal to the people. Normalcy is gradually returning to the area,” Fadeyi said.