At least one person died while several others sustained varying degrees of injuries when Yorubas and Hausas clashed at Shasha, Ibadan, on Friday.
The clash also saw vehicles vandalized, kiosks, shops razed, houses pelted and various other structures destroyed.
An incident on Thursday served as a precursor to Friday’s clash when a Hausa man had altercations with a pregnant woman in front of her shop.
The man was conveying tomatoes, but on getting to the front of the pregnant woman’s shop, it upturned and fell.
This drew the ire of the pregnant woman when he 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.
An altercation had ensued with the woman insisting that the man should pack all that was poured in front of her shop.
A shoemaker Sakirundeen Adeola alias Korex had intervened to separate the two only to be hit by the Hausa man and started foaming.
The shoemaker was rushed to the hospital only to be confirmed dead later on Thursday.
To avenge the death of one their own, some Yorubas had on Friday blocked the entry of truckload of tomatoes, driven by Hausas, into Sasha market leading to a clash.
In his account of what led to the clash, a resident of Shasha, Kola Ridwan said, “A shoemaker, Sakirundeen Adeola, who was watching the altercation between the Hausa man and the pregnant woman, left his shop and went to meet the two of them with a view to resolving the crisis.
“Sakirudeen insisted no matter what, the man should not litter 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 is from Niger Republic and lives among the Hausa community. Then, the Hausa also mobilised to fight.
“I can confirm to you that no fewer than seven trucks have been vandalised and looted. Also, many houses have been burnt.
“The Hausa have been mobilising from Akinyele to Shasha and the arson has continued in Shasha. If care is not taken, the crisis may degenerate to an unimaginable level.”
The Deputy Director, Oyo State Fire Service, Mr Moshood Adewuyi, who confirmed the incident, said that the fire brigade was not allowed to put out the fire as hoodlums descended heavily on them and their facilities.
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 a hospital.
“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.
He added 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 had visited the scene for on the spot assessment.
Credit: Nigerian Tribune