We watched in awe the parade of 21 people which the police claimed were the masterminds of the violence that took place recently in Ile Ife. According to police, the people paraded were arrested in Ile-Ife and taken to Abuja.
After serious deliberations the Oodua People’s Congress frowns at the subjective nature of the investigation and the position of the police is not clear. How come not a single person out of those who trigger off the violence have not been paraded by the police?, were those paraded fighting against themselves? The genesis of the mayhem was the beheading of a vulganizer an indigene of Ife, and his head was paraded by Hausas on the streets of Ife, which led to the unfortunate blood letting.
How come the people and residence of Ife are the one who are being paraded as the cause of the violence, who set more than 40 houses of Yorubas on fire in Ife? Why were the police and military quick to sweep into action and make several arrests when other places where thousands and hundreds are killed in the past such as Agatu, Southern Kaduna, Shittes unrests,and several others the police is yet to make any singular arrest and parade them at police force headquarters Abuja like they did to the 21 Yorubas they paraded,nor make the result of their investigations public?
It is sad that Yorubas are at the receiving end because we chose to be peace loving and accommodate strangers in our land,Ile-Ife can be described as the original home of Yorubas,if this can happen at our source, the cradle of yorubas then our call for restructuring should be taken seriously.Another pointer is the interest the police attached to the matter,how come a state matter became something that is being handled in Abuja? What is the expected role of the Osun State police command? Wont a state police one of the content of restructuring nip the situation and handle the matter promptly before it escalated to the point that 46 people died as claimed by police and 96 people injured.Based on this figure,is the police saying all the dead and injured are Hausas?
When a notable Yoruba elder, Chief Olu Falae, was kidnapped and his guard killed by Fulani herdsmen,what steps did the police take?
After the mayhem, a Federal Minister and Former Governor came to Ife to speak with the Hausa Community, and we have it on good authority that they promise to go into the depth of the mayhem,from the look of things it is obvious that the police is influenced by those powerful Hausa politicians.
We are therefore calling on the police to be objective and do the needful to balance the arrest and allow justice to prevail.We are living witnesses to Mile 12 lagos hausa traders,police cant bounce on them and they will not react,they should not make this a media trial,if you parade someone on allegation of murder,what if the court states otherwise, what happens to their image?
A traditional ruler was among those paraded,the Osun State Council of Obas should rise up and investigate this matter and take a position.
We condemn the entire investigation as lopsided, highly bias and element of foundation of injustice.
SIGNED
Otunba (Dr) Gani Adams
National Coordinator
Oodua People’s Congress.
