While the government looks into what caused the violence in the area, the Oyo state government has urged young people and residents of Ojoo in the state’s Akinyele local government area to embrace peace.
When conducting an on-the-spot assessment of the affected area on Wednesday, Deputy Governor Bayo Lawal made this appeal and issued a warning that the government would not put up with any kind of illegality or disorderliness that could disturb the state’s peace.
In addition, he denounced the violence and cautioned against attributing ethnic or tribal characteristics to criminal acts.
He said, “There was a civil confusion around this place, perpetrated by some criminal elements, having the tendency of snowballing to tribal clash and we must nip it in the bud.
“Criminals are criminals and there is no tribal colouration to criminality. So, we want to ensure peace and stability here in Ojoo and, indeed, all parts of Oyo State.
“So, we have come to appeal to our people here, particularly the youth, that they should give peace a chance, because government has waded into the matter now.
“We are profiling, we are investigating and whoever is found culpable will be brought to face the law, whether he is an Hausa man, Igbo man, Yoruba man or whatever. Criminality is not exclusive to a particular tribe.
“We want to know what triggered this crisis and once we know, then we will deal with it decisively. But our appeal now is for all our young men and women, youths, and elders to allow the security people to do their jobs.
“The second appeal is to tell our people not to take laws into their hands. That is crucial. You know we already have security challenges on our hands and we do not want the situation to be compounded.
“Let us be well-focused so that the challenges can be surmounted. Please, be patient so that this one will also be addressed as we are addressing the current challenges that we have.
“We want to appreciate all our youths, men and women, shop owners, for their patience. We understand that we have recorded two casualties. We will probe, we will investigate, and the perpetrators will be brought to book.
“The appeal now is for everybody to leave this space. Go back to your homes and allow the security personnel to take charge of this space for now in order to restore peace.”
Earlier, a youth representative in the community appealed to the government to engage leaders of the affected parties to broker a lasting truce, expressing concern that failure to achieve peace could result in possible reprisals.
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