Osogbo—Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, has warned persons peddling videos and images of the killings in Ile-Ife and calling for revenge, in Kaduna State.
His spokesperson, Samuel Aruwan, said in a statement yesterday in Kaduna that the governor warned that anyone found appealing for revenge will be arrested and prosecuted.
El-Rufai

The warnings are contained in a statement issued on behalf of the Kaduna State Security Council, which commended the vast majority of the residents for their commitment to peace and urged them to continue to resist and reject any attempt to disrupt the peace and tranquillity currently prevailing in the state.

Warning against the incitement of unnecessary tensions in the state because of events elsewhere in the country, it urged those responsible for it to desist from circulating videos and images with inciting commentary and calls to citizens for reprisals.

Meantime, the Seriki Hausawa of Ife, Alhaji Abubakar Madagali has described the clash between Yoruba and Hausa communities in Ile-Ife where several lives were lost and valuable property destroyed as an attack on Hausa indigenes by Yorubas.

Speaking at a press conference attended by traditional chiefs in Ifeland and leaders of both Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo indigenes residing in the town, the Seriki explained that many of his followers had no where they call their homes than Ile-Ife.

His words: “We, the Hausas living in Ile-Ife are peace lovers, the people that are leaving Ile-Ife as a result of the crises those that came here to seek greener pastures not those of us that see this place as our homes. It is not a clash between us and the Yorubas. We were attacked, our houses were razed. We are highly devastated. There is no need to look for the root cause of the crisis again. All we want is peace.”

He, however, assured that his members would not retaliate, noting that they see their misfortune as an act ordained by Allah (God) to happen to them at that time in Ife.

Meanwhile, the Osun House of Assembly has said that the state government should set up a commission of enquiry to investigate the root causes of the clash in the ancient town, which resulted in loss of lives and properties.

In a statement by the Chairman, House Committee on Information and Strategy, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, members of the parliament who made the call at the plenary yesterday said the crisis was a ‘very sad development’ and should be investigated to prevent the recurrence of such incidences.

The Speaker, Najeem Salaam, who noted that the crisis was pathetic, said government must constitute a fact finding committee that would investigate the crisis and report its findings to the government.

According to him, the investigation should include among others, whether it was an ethnic clash between Yoruba and Hausa communities in the town, or whether hoodlums seized the misunderstanding of some individuals to drag the entire town into chaos.

Vanguardngr