Violence in Ibadan…Ladoja’s house, others, burnt, many injured

There was “war” in the city of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Sunday, when thugs attacked some communities injuring many residents and destroying property worth millions of naira. Many houses were burnt, including the family house of the former governor of the state, Senator Rashidi Ladoja. Many cars, tricycles and up to 200 shops were also destroyed.

Images showing aftermath of the violence....via Nigerian Tribune

Area boys from Born Photo area of the city reportedly attacked Popoyemoja community in the early hours of Sunday, freely unleashing terror on residents of the area for more than two hours before the arrival of the police.

The violence, in which a petrol station was partly burnt, spread to other areas like Isale Osi, Idi Arere and Popoyemoja.

A residents told Newson247 that: “The boys are thugs working for politicians. They just came and started shooting, entering people’s houses and burning them. They were even looting shops”.

Area boys from Born Photo area however denied launching the attack. They  accused boys from Popoyemoja of stage-managing it but their counterparts said the attackers were "the Born Photo boys"

However, Nigerian Tribune, quotes a resident of Popoyemoja, Alhaji Azeez Arigbabuwo, as saying: “These area boys are giving us sleepless nights in this area. I think it is high time government did something about them, most especially as the 2015 general election is drawing nearer. As you can see for yourself, my car has been damaged. I just bought it and I have not even registered it. So, the government should please, do something to save us from these bad boys”

The mayhem's political coloration got deeper with the Chairman, Ibadan South-West Local Government Area of the state, Mr Taoreed Adeleke saying that it was a fight beyond area boys. According to him, “it has the hand of politicians in it”.

Photo Credit: Olufemi Atoyebi via Punch

Punch quotes an Accord Party chieftain, Lanre Ogundipe, as saying that the fight was between APC members.

He said: “APC started it among rival groups within the party on Friday. They should not point accusing fingers at any other political party”.

The APC Chairman in the state, Akin Oke, said in a statement that the opposition in the state was responsible for the mayhem.

Part of his statement reads: “All evidences at APC disposal pointed at a high-level gang-up by some politicians currently at large to embarrass government and to destroy the three and half years of peace in the state.

“We still insist that the persons behind that violence were carrying out a high-level assignment which has to do with the 2015 elections. The violence betrays logic. Why would APC ‘thugs’, if the allegation of the opposition is to be believed, be involved in shooting the police and not their rival groups? Why did the fomenters of the violence choose the governor’s local government and the last day of his meet-the-people tour, as their target?”

The Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, Olabisi Ilobanafor, said the command will address the press on the matter on Monday.