By Peter Ayoade
Some traders have shutdown their shops as a result of the violence unleashed by some hoodlums which led to the alleged shooting of three persons at Onideore, Ogundipe Street in Oranyan area of Ibadan, Oyo State in the early hours of Monday.
According to the residents of the area, they said that the immediate cause of the violence could not be ascertained.
However, a source informed the Nigerian Tribune that trouble ensued when some youths, in large numbers, stormed the streets around 8pm, halting commercial and vehicular activities.
The hoodlums allegedly attacked motorists and traders in the area, just as vehicles and shops were vandalised during the mayhem.
One of the affected victims, Badmus Yusuf, who alleged that he lost the sum of N800,000 in his shop during the incident said, “as a result of the chaos, some residents of the area were forced to vacate their homes for fear of being attacked.
“Of the four people that sustained bullet injuries, only one young man had a life-threatening case. He had been rushed to the University College Hospital, Ibadan.”
The National President of Soludero Hunters Association, Oba Wahab Nureni AjijolaAnabi hinted that hunters and the Amotekun operatives collaborated to contain the violence.
According to him, “We reported the incident at Idi Aro Police Station. I saw some of the boys. The young boys carried two guns. They intended shooting one person but the bullets hit three other people. We hunters drove them away. I thought they had gone only for them to regroup.
“They regrouped around 12.00 am. We were helpless because they ran into densely populated areas to evade arrest. We observed that they are young boys. We only shot into the air to scare them. The Amotekun operatives later joined us to drive them away. They vandalised vehicles and looted shops.”
The Police denied the claim that the matter was reported at Idi Aro Police station.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Oyo State Command, Olugbenga Fadeyi, said, “The Divisional Police Officer said it is a blatant lie, that there was no such report at the station. Notwithstanding, efforts have been intensified to know if anything of such happened or not.”
