Source: Punch ekiti.com News Section: Ekiti Date: Friday, May 22, 2015
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Kamarudeen Ogundele
The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has
imposed a curfew on Ado Ekiti to prevent the
raging fight between transport workers and
Hausa traders from spreading to other parts of
the state.
The governor, while addressing the Hausa
Community at Atikankan area of Ado Ekiti, said
the curfew, which started on Thursday, would be
on between 6pm and 6am daily.
Fayose also ordered security agents to arrest
whoever failed to comply with the order.
The governor, who appealed to the Hausa
community to be patient, promised that they
would get justice.
“You said you love me, this is the time you have
to show this love. I want to plead with you to
submit whatever lethal weapon you have in your
possession to the police. And if you refuse to do
this, whether you are Yoruba or Hausa, the
police will arrest you.
“Nigeria belongs to all of us and for the sake of
our country, I plead with you to allow peace to
reign.”
However, the state Secretary of the National
Union of Road Transport Workers, Mr. Akinsola
Osundiya, at a briefing with journalists in Ado
Ekiti, distanced members of the union from the
crisis.
“Our members do not load vehicles in that area,
so we were not in any way involved in the clash
with the Hausa traders,” he said.
The Chairman of Hausa Community in Ekiti State,
Alhaji Adamu Imam, begged the government for
monetary assistance for those whose property
were damaged by hoodlums during the crisis.
Imam said the names of the perpetrators of the
violent attack had been compiled and would be
made available to the governor and security
agencies for necessary actions.
However, the Ekiti State Police Command has
said the number of those injured during the
incident had risen to 24.
A statement by the Police Public Relations
Officer, Mr. Alberto Adeyemi, on behalf of the
state Police Commissioner, Mr. Etop John James,
said two of those injured sustained gunshot
wounds and were receiving treatment at an
undisclosed hospital.
“Nobody died in the incident contrary to reports;
only two persons sustained pellet wounds while
22 others sustained varying degrees of injuries.
“All the injured were taken to the police clinic in
Ado-Ekiti where they are being treated and they
are responding to treatment,” he said.
The command, however, debunked media reports
that four people had died during the clash
between the drivers and Hausa Traders at
Erekesan Market in Ado Ekiti.
It disclosed that three units of mobile policemen
had been stationed on the scene of the violent
attack to arrest whoever planned to foment
trouble.
The Police enjoined residents to go about their
lawful business as enough security arrangement
had been made to forestall a re-occurrence.
Meanwhile, the umbrella body for non-indigenes
resident in Ekiti State, Non-Indigenes Youth
Alliance, has condemned the attack on their
members, declaring the act as uncivilised and an
act of bestiality.
In a statement signed by its Acting Chairman,
Prince Abdulrahaman Oziandu, the group said
they never expected their shops to be looted in
such a brazen manner.
The body, which praised the governor for quick
intervention in resolving the issue, called on
relevant agencies to beef up security so that
their members could return to work without fear
of being molested or intimidated by hoodlums.
Oziandu, who said those who were mostly hit by
the attack were Igbo, Hausa, Nupe and Ebira
people, accused the assailants of re-selling the
looted commodities at cheaper prices to
interested members of the public.
He said, “The event of Wednesday was the
second in history, when some indigenes, hiding
under their popularity will attack whoever that is
not their tribe over issues that could be
resolved. We are giving this last warning that
they should not allow this to happen again.”
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Ekiti
chapter, has called on the CP to arrest those
that launched attacks on some journalists in the
state while covering the crisis.
The state NUJ Chairman, Laolu Omosilade, in a
statement in Ado Ekiti condemned the attack,
saying it was the highest point of barbarism in
this modern time.


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