Shasha mayhem: Fulani herders issue 2-day ultimatum, demands N495bn compensation

An Association of Fulani herders has demanded N495bn from Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state as compensation for damages incurred by them during the Hausa/Yoruba clash at the Shasha market in Ibadan where many lives were lost and properties destroyed.

The herders who said they had video and photo evidence of all those who were killed as well as their property which were destroyed and had forwarded the same to the Presidency made the demand at a press conference in the state capital.

A spokesman for the association said, “151 people lost their lives at the Shasha incident and then during the #EndSARS protest, we also lost not less than 100 people. Yes, we have requested for N475 billion for the loss of lives and property destroyed. We also lost more than 100 trucks.

“We have the states and villages, pictures and videos. We have the property that was even damaged. We are not saying what we are saying in vain because we have all the pictures. We have detailed pictures of people who have been killed.

“This has been sent to all quarters – the Presidency, the National Assembly, the Inspector General of Police, the Office of the National Security Adviser and all. We have sent them to the United States embassy, the United Nations, the German Embassy and the British Parliament.

“There is no response from all the quarters we have made contact with. If by (February) 24, nothing has been done, action will commence. The herdsmen have a right to live and do business in any part of the country. That is what the constitution says.”

.The Shasha crisis between the Yoruba and the Hausa/Fulani at the market engulfed Oyo State in the second week of February, forcing the state government on February 13 to order the “immediate closure of the market in the Akinyele Local Government Area of Ibadan.”

Meanwhile Governor Seyi Makinde on Tuesday directed the immediate re-opening of the market after a meeting on Tuesday with representatives of Yoruba and Hausa communities who are stakeholders in the market.

Among the stakeholders at the meeting were the Baale Sasa, Amusa Alabi, and Seriki Hausa of Sasa, Malam Haruna Mai Yasin.

Governor Makinde stated that the market is being reopened so that people can continue to do their business. He also declared that his government has lifted the curfew imposed on the area in the wake of the violence that erupted in the market recently.