SHASHA, OYO CRISIS: IGP deploys 4 riot police squadrons, chopper

…DIG Folawiyo to co-ordinate operations

…3000 people displaced, as victims count losses in Oyo

By Ola Ajayi

THE Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has ordered immediate deployment of four units of riot policemen to address the violence in parts of Oyo State.

The intervention and stabilization forces also include Force Intelligence Bureau operatives and one surveillance helicopter from the Police Air Wing department.

Oyo State has been lately wrapped by violence, including the killings of farmers by suspected herdsmen, abductions and clashes between some Hausa and Yoruba traders at Shasha market.

Force Spokesman, CP Frank Mba, in a statement, yesterday, said the operatives would reclaim the public space, reinforce security and bolster public confidence in the areas affected by the crisis.

He said: “The deployments, consisting largely of intelligence and operational assets of the Force, include four units of the Police Mobile Force, seasoned operatives from the Force Intelligence Bureau and one operational/surveillance police helicopter from the police Air-wing department.

“The intervention force is being coordinated by a Deputy Inspector General of Police, David Folawiyo, who is expected to mobilize all relevant stakeholders towards achieving the mandate of the squad.”

The statement said the IG assured that the force was committed to the safety of the lives and properties of the citizens in the country and called on residents of Oyo State and other Nigerians to embrace peace and cooperate with the police and the security community “as they redouble their efforts in ensuring that sustainable peace and security are restored to the affected areas.”

3,000 people displaced as victims count losses

Meanwhile, feuding parties in the crisis that engulfed Shasha area of Ibadan in Akinyele Local Government area at the weekend have started counting their losses after normalcy returned to the trouble spots.

Vanguard gathered that many people died in the crisis which started last Friday at the popular market, while vehicles and shops were burnt.

According to information gathered, some people are still missing, with leaders of the parties in the crisis leading the search teams.

One of the market leaders, Ciroma, told Vanguard that they buried ”some of our people on Sunday.”

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Ciroma whose voice was hoarse as a result of the trauma, said: “Yes, it is true some of our people were buried on Sunday. Even now, we are still looking for others.”

He faulted the report of a certain special adviser to Governor Seyi Makinde on the crisis saying it didn’t reflect what actually happened.

Vanguard also gathered that no fewer than 3,000 people were displaced and are now taking shelter with their people in other parts of the city.

Also, a man from the other side of the crisis who did not identify himself said some of their people were killed during the crisis.

“Do you know that we lost one popular man Adex, and others whose whereabouts we don’t know as of now. Almost all our shops have been burnt by arsonists. We cannot estimate what we have lost to the crisis. Those who sustained injuries cannot yet be determined until the tension is over.”

A reliable source told Vanguard that some people were being escorted out of the trouble spots by security agents to Moniya area of the city while some reportedly relocated to Mokola area of the city.

Meanwhile, peace has returned to the market.  Unlike Friday and Saturday when both human and vehicular traffic were paralysed, some trucks loaded with tubers of yams were seen coming from Shasha-Ojoo end of the road to Sango.

However, some truck drivers who were afraid of being caught up in the crisis sold their tomatoes at give away prices before getting to the market and headed back to Ilorin-Ogbomosho road.

Vanguard News Nigeria

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