Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and four northern governors Tuesday visited Shasha Market in Ibadan to assess the destruction at the scene of the clash between Yoruba and Hausa communities.
The northern governors include Kebbi State Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, Abdulahi Ganduje of Kano State; Bello Matawalle of Zamfara and Abubakar Sanni of Niger States.
The delegation later went into consultations with the Seriki Alhaji Haruna Maiyasin.
The five governors are also scheduled to visit the Baale of Shasha to appeal to both sides to stop hostilities and co-exist peacefully.
The four northern governors had arrived in Ibadan, Oyo State capital since Monday evening. Their visit is unconnected to the ongoing ethnic tension in the state.
On Thursday at Shasha market in Ibadan, a clash erupted following a heated argument between a pregnant Yoruba woman and a Hausa porter over waste disposal.
The argument led to a violent clash between the Yorubas and the Hausas in the Shasha community after a cobbler named Shakirudeen Adéọlá, reportedly died from a hit by the porter while trying to broker peace between the woman and the porter.
Usman Yako, chair of the Hausa traders association at Shasha market, told Reuters by telephone at least 11 people from his ethnic group were killed in clashes at the market on Friday and Saturday.
The clash also led to the destruction of houses and shops in the community.
Nigeria Police Force boss Mohammed Adamu on Monday deployed “intervention and stabilisation forces” to the state.
Adamu said the deployment is “to reclaim the public space, reinforce security and bolster public confidence in the areas affected by the recent crisis in the State.”
The Guardian
