THE five-man judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by the Osun State government to look into the ethnic clash that occurred between Yoruba and Hausa communities in Ile-Ife on March 8, has assured all parties involved in the crisis of fairness and justice. It thus, called for memorandum from all interested parties.

The assurance was given as the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum and the Igbimo Odo Yoruba were engaged in war of words over the clash.

Members of the commission, on Thursday, March 30, also visited Sabo area of the town where the incident took place and addressed leaders of both Yoruba and Hausa communities. At the palace of the Ooni of Ife, Justice Moshood Adeigbe, chairman of the commission, explained that all parties would be given fair-hearing, assuring that members would not be compromised. He said the commission was out to ensure that the real perpetrators of the act were brought to book and ensure that all warring factions were appeased.

Adeigbe said: “We are here to inform you of our mission. We are men of integrity and we want to assure you that we will be totally neutral in the discharge of our duty. We will do our job without fear or favour to anyone or group in the matter. We hope to have your support.” Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ooni of Ife, pledged his support and that of his chiefs in ensuring that the members of the commission accomplished their mission.

He admonished them to avoid bias, stating that they should be honest in their assignment. He informed members of the commission that many Yoruba leaders were interested in the outcome of their inquiries. On his recent trip to the United States shortly after the incident, he said it was to foster peaceful co-existence among Nigerians. He said: “I took permission from the governor of the state before travelling few days after the incident happened. My trip to the US was for very important reasons and I met many northern leaders including the Sultan who helped to speak to their people.

“I am pleased to receive you all; I am fully with you. As you have said, please be neutral so that you can get to the bottom of what triggered the unfortunate incident. Because it happened at the epicentre of the Yoruba race, a lot of people are interested in the outcome of your mission. I have received many phone calls from different parts of the world as regards this and I pray such doesn’t occur in any part of the country again.”

—  Apr 10, 2017 @ 01:00 GMT

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