‘We are not safe’ — Yoruba community issues seven-day ultimatum to Hausa scavengers after four killed in clash

• Four people were killed after a dispute between Yoruba traders and Hausa scrap collectors escalated into violence in Ibadan's Ojoo area.

• Oyo State has deployed security personnel and ordered the removal of illegal structures linked to the crisis within seven days.

• Community leaders have pledged to cooperate with the government as security remains tight across the area.

A violent confrontation in Ibadan has left four people dead, businesses shuttered and an entire community on edge, after a dispute between Yoruba traders and Hausa scrap collectors in the Ojoo area escalated into armed conflict.

The trouble began late Tuesday night when a commercial tricycle operator visited a Point of Sale outlet (POS) to withdraw money. A disagreement broke out after the transaction reportedly failed to process, with the POS operator insisting the cash had already been handed over.

The tricycle rider left his phone and keys as security while the matter was being resolved, but before anything could be settled, a group of suspected Hausa scrap collectors arrived and attacked him. He was stabbed repeatedly and died from his injuries.

By Wednesday morning, the killing had ignited wider violence. Gunshots rang out across the commercial district, traders locked up their shops and fled, and armed confrontations broke out between members of both communities. A young boy heading out to buy noodles was struck by a stray bullet and killed.

The Oyo State Government confirmed four deaths in total and deployed security personnel to restore calm, while assuring residents that those responsible would be arrested and prosecuted.

Following a peace meeting convened by Deputy Governor Bayo Lawal, alongside the Akinyele Local Government Area chairman, both community leaders were brought to the table. The government issued a seven-day ultimatum for the removal of illegal structures and shanties in the area linked to the crisis.

The leader of the Yoruba community in Ojoo, Folagbade Azeez, made his community's position clear after the meeting.

"They called us and when we got there we saw things happening and how they were shooting guns. We are not safe," he said, adding that residents had been given assurances the scrap collectors would vacate within the week.

The chairman of the Hausa community in Ojoo, Abubakar Musa, attended the same meeting and pushed back against attempts to cast the incident purely along ethnic lines, insisting that those involved were not indigenous to either community.

"The people involved are not indigenous residents of Ojoo. Some of them came from other areas," he said, adding that both Hausa and Yoruba leaders had agreed to cooperate fully with the government's directive.

Musa also confirmed that his community had existing mechanisms for resolving disputes and had submitted relevant documentation to the state government as part of ongoing efforts to maintain peaceful coexistence in the area.

Security forces remain deployed across Ojoo as the seven-day deadline begins.

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