The Bodija traders to rebuild burnt police post

IBADAN—INDICATIONS emerged yesterday that traders at the popular Bodija Market in Ibadan, Oyo State, have accepted to rebuild the police post which was burnt down by some irate Hausa mob who stormed the market last Friday. This came as the Oyo State Police Command confirmed the release of 14 suspects arrested during the crisis. The Police Public Relations Officer in the state Mrs. Olabisi Ilobanafor, said, “Some of those arrested have been released conditionally having discovered through preliminary investigation that they must have been wrongly arrested.” div> She said anybody found culpable in the violence would be charged to court. Chairman, Bodija Traders’ Association, Alhaji Olalekan Azeez, also corroborated the police statement, saying, “The police have released 14 of our arrested members.” Meanwhile, the market will re-open today after the crisis was amicably settled at a stakeholders’ meeting that the executives of the market had with the Chairman, Ibadan North Local Government, Mr. Muritala Lapade, representatives of State Security Service and the Oyo State Police Command. The Public Relations Officer of the Market Traders’ Association, Mr. Akeem Emiola, told newsmen in Ibadan that “We (traders) agreed to cooperate with the police on how to renovate the burnt station.” The meeting lasted several hours after which the spokesperson of the market said, “The incident is unfortunate. As a matter of fact, we are aware that the police station is for our own security. To that extent, we are ready to work closely with the police in putting it back to shape.”