Global human rights body, Amnesty International (AI), on Sunday condemned the attacks on Northerners residing and doing business at the Shasha area of Akinyele Local Government Area (Ibadan), Oyo State.
Amnesty said that the attacks, which led to loss of lives and properties, “must be investigated and perpetrators brought to justice.”
According to Amnesty, “the violent incidents in #Oyo and other places must be investigated promptly, independently and fairly. #ProtectAllLives.
“We call on the Nigerian authorities to protect the lives and properties of every person in Nigeria wherever they reside. The government must take urgent steps to stop the escalation of violence. #ProtectAllLives #HumanRight
“Amnesty International condemns the attacks on northerners residing and doing business at the #Sasa area of Akinyele Local Government, #Oyo state. The attacks which led to the loss of lives and properties must be investigated and perpetrators brought to justice. #ProtectAllLives”
Meanwhile, the O’odua Peoples Congress (OPC) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate last Friday’s clash between Yorubas and Hausas in Shasha community, Akinyele Local Government Area of Ibadan, Oyo State.
The tribal clash led to the death of a cobbler, Sakirundeen Adeola, while properties worth several millions were destroyed.
OPC, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Yinka Oguntimehin, expressed concern that a minor misunderstanding between a pregnant woman and an Hausa man later degenerated into tribal crisis, leading to death and destruction of properties in the community.
The OPC Spokesperson lamented that such crisis could have been avoided, saying, “it is unfortunate that a short misunderstanding between two traders eventually led to killing and destruction. Yoruba are every where in Nigeria, especially in the North, mostly in Kano and Kaduna. However, it is on record that no Yoruba native has ever instigated any crisis in the North.
“Therefore, I am using this opportunity to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate the circumstances surrounding the ugly incident, so as to bring the culprits to book and also forestall further crisis.”
Oguntimehin also expressed dismay at the report of a Divisional Police officer in charge of Ile-Igbon Division, Surulere Local Government Area of Ogbomoso in Oyo State, Adepoju Ayodeji, shooting an operative of Amotekun for arresting Fulani herdsmen that allegedly destroyed a cassava farm.
“The Police Officer should be made to face the music for shooting an Amotekun Corp, no matter who was involved and the circumstances surrounding the incident, the Police boss should be professional enough to know when to pull the trigger.
“It is a grave error of judgment for such a senior officer of the Police to shoot an Amotekun Corp knowing full well that the south west security outfit was backed by the law.
“So for a Police officer to have shot such a Corp is not only a disgrace to the police hierarchy, but a sad reminder of the systemic failure of an institution that is supposed to protect the citizens, maintain law and order, now becoming the law breaker and a threat to the peace of the society,” Oguntimehin said.