The Oyo State government on Tuesday revealed when the victims of the last Thursday’s clash between butchers and Police at the Bodija market would be compensated.
Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Toye Arulogun who said that government was still compiling the list of the affected victims, however, informed that the compensation would come after all the investigations have been concluded on the real figure of the affected victims and casualties.
Arulogun while speaking with journalists at the premises of the Ibadan Central abattoir located at Amosun village, stated that there were conflicting figures on the number of casualties, ie those who lost their lives. This, according to him necessitated the need for thorough and proper investigations to know the exact number of people who lost their lives and their identities before their families would be compensated.
He said that the police claimed two people lost their lives while members of the public are saying five or four people lost their lives. He said for that reason, government was taking its time to know the exact figure.
Arulogun, however, added that after the exact number of casualties have been ascertained, the state government will compensate the families of those who lost their lives during the clash.
He said, “The state government has done it before, we have done it when some Bodija traders were killed, even, when the incident occurred outside the state, so, the government that could do that, will after investigations compensate the victims.
“This because there are still conflicting figures. The police said that two people were killed, while some people are saying four or five. So, we need to look at the figure. We need to know the exact number of the people who lost their lives during the incident.
“So, after investigations, the government will provide a kind of compensation to the families of the victims.
Secretary of the Nigeria Butchers Union (NBU), in the state, Mr. Lateef Olagoke while speaking said that contrary to insinuations, there is still cordial relationship between the butchers and the cattle breeders in the state, adding that there will be no increment in the prices meat in the state.
He said, “There will be no increment in the prices of meat, some people are saying that, but some of you have seen it, people have alternative to meat and we don’t want our market to go down. That is why we will not increase the prices. We are not just supporting the government, what we are doing is for the health of the people. There is cordial relationship between us and the cattle breeders and sellers, be it Hausa, Fulani or any other. We are friends. There is no crisis between us”.
