Ile-Ife Crisis: Panel of Inquiry Rounds Off Sitting

The panel of inquiry on disturbance of public peace set up by Osun state Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, to unravel the circumstances that led to the communal clash in Ile-ife has concluded its sitting.

Governor Aregbesola set up the panel on 25th day of March, 2017 and charged them to investigate the crisis within four weeks.
Since the panel began its sitting on April 19, 2017, it has not received any eyewitness account from those that testified before it.
Majority of those that submitted memoranda were those that approached the panel for compensation from the government.
While many claimed that their shops were looted during the fracas, many claimed that their houses were burnt and appealed to government to assist them.
The Secretary of the panel, Mr. Bisi Babalola, said that the panel has treated 289 of the 406 memoranda it received.
Babalola who admitted that majority of those that submitted memoranda were not at the scene of the crisis, assured that the panel would address it in its recommendations.
He dispelled rumour that the crisis was a tribal issue, saying “security report revealed that the crisis started between a Yoruba woman and Hausa man due to a
misunderstanding.
“We received 406 memoranda and with the four we have taken today, we have treated 289. I can assure the public that the panel would soon make recommendations to the government in due course.
“We started sitting on April 19 and we sat for 27 days. Many of those that submitted memoranda have refused to show up before the panel despite announcements and several invitations,” Babalola stated.
Earlier, the chairman of the panel, Justice Moshood Adeigbe, appreciated the people of Ife for the cooperation and support given to the panel during its sittings in the town.
He said the panel was ready to fulfil its earlier promise to give a fair and unbiased recommendations on the outcome of its findings.
However, the President, Ife Development Board, Lawrence Olajire Olawoyin, appreciated the governor for allowing the panel to sit in Ile-Ife where the crisis occurred.
He said that the governor had selected those that know how to manage crisis, adding “we found them very appropriate for the assignment.