Oyo market crisis: Senate President accuses South West leaders of formenting crisis

Nigeria’s Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan has lashed at South West governors, accusing them of inciting their people against northerners living and doing businesses in the zone.

Lawan’s remark followed Shasha market crisis in Oyo State last week, which claimed several lives and properties worth millions of naira.

Speaking during an interview with BBC Hausa,
Lawan slammed the Southwest governors as he said that they are responsible for the killings and crisis that occured in Ibadan.

According to him, its leadership failure on the part of South West for that crisis that occurred in Oyo State and other things that kept happening in the zone.

He further insisted that some governors also went further in inciting their citizens to take up arms against Northerners settling in region. Their utterance led the criminals to kill the northerners.

CAPITAL POST recalls that some days ago, clash broke out between Yoruba and Hausa at Shasa market in Akinyele local gov­ernment area, Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.

The clash started when a Hausa man reportedly beat up a pregnant woman who accused her of littering the frontal part of her shop, while a cobbler popularly called Adex who intervened but met his untimely death as the Hausa man allegedly hit him with a magic charm.

Though, there was heavy casualty among the camps of Hausa and Yoruba traders, CAPITAL POST further gathered that about 5,000 Hausa traders, women and children were displaced during the crisis, and many fled for their lives.

Northern governors, have penultimate week, visited the governor of Oyo State, Engr Seyi Makinde who led them to the scene.

They indicated their readiness to join hands with the Oyo State Government in rebuilding the market