Bodija market may be reopened Saturday ―Ajimobi

BODIJA market, Ibadan which was shut by Oyo State government following a violent clash between butchers and security operatives may be reopened on Saturday.

Governor Abiola Ajimobi gave this hint on Friday when he visited the scene of the Bodija violence to ascertain the level of compliance to the closure order and level of damage, especially of the market police post.

Ajimobi said that his resolve to consider a reopening of the market was consequent upon the palpable restoration of calm and assurances of security agencies of arresting those behind Thursday’s violence.

He decried the torching of the Bodija police post as unlawful, asserting that the perpetrators of the act will be arrested and prosecuted.

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He condemned the violence as being perpetrated by dissidents and miscreants ignorant of the import of asking the butchers of Bodija abattoir and other abattoirs in Ibadan to relocate to Amosun area, Akinyele local government area of the state.

He explained that the need to mandate butchers to move to a modern abattoir was aimed at providing a healthy and conducive environment and preventing the spread of diseases from unhygienic meat consumption.

“The job of government is to provide security and enhance socioeconomic values. In doing so, we must look at the health situation of our people and provide a clean and healthy environment. Cows are being slaughtered daily and we don’t want the spread of diseases. Hence, we need to have a modern abattoir to enhance a healthy, conducive environment.

“We will always have dissidents, miscreants show up in anything we are doing. But we are on the healthy side of living.

“We have closed the market and now it seems peaceful and the market leaders have been told the market leaders to talk to the dissidents, maybe we will open the market tomorrow.

“Ajimobi is not a butcher but I want peace. Those who burnt the police post must pay for it. We don’t want lawlessness; we will charge them. We will insist on the enforcement of the rule of law. We know them, they will pay for it. We will arrest and prosecute the perpetrators,” he said.

The day also saw Ajimobi tour the Amosun abattoir, where he harped on the need for the butchers to be law abiding.