Two feared killed as park managers, students clash with phone sellers in Ibadan
There was apprehension in Iwo Road area of Ibadan, Oyo State capital on Wednesday, when some students, members of the defunct National Union of Roads and Transport Workers (NURTW) otherwise known as park managers and mobile phone sellers engaged in a free for all, leaving two people dead at the end of the fracas.
Sources claim that a son of the owner of a shopping complex in Iwo Road who was allegedly killed was coming to park his car in the front of his mother’s complex but some members of the defunct NURTW had already parked their vehicles at the parking lot.
The source hinted that a brawl ensued following an altercation between the tenants in the complex and the members of NURTW, a development, which degenerated into chaos, forcing many shop owners and traders to flee the scene.
Members of the defunct NURTW were said to have later regrouped and launched a fresh attack on the shopping complex. In the ensuing melee, one person and the son of the complex owner were killed.
But another version of the clash indicated that some students of an unidentified higher institution in Ibadan had a few days ago came to the complex to buy a mobile and later came back on Wednesday to return the phone over a complaint that it was not functioning properly.
The seller of the phone was said to have refused to change it, claiming that the phone was in good condition when he sold it to one of the students a few days ago.
This led to an argument, which snowballed into a violent clash that resulted in the death of two persons. Some policemen, members of the Operation Burst and Amotekun Security Corps were later moved to the scene to restore normalcy.
A source who pleaded anonymity said “they have killed our landlord. We are already going to the Government House to show the governor what his men are doing in Iwo road. This must not continue in Ibadan. Governor must do something now.”
Reacting to the incident, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Park Management System (PMS) in Oyo State, Alhaji Emiola Jelili, denied the involvement of park managers in the violence, saying “it was a clash between some students and phone sellers in a shopping complex.”
“It is very ridiculous and unfortunate that if any clash happens in Iwo Road area, some people always attribute it to park managers. This is quite unfair. None of our members is involved in the violence. I can say this with all authority, ” he stated.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr Adewale Osifeso, described as untrue information that people died during the clash.
He said; “it is true there was a crisis but nobody died. Our men are already in Iwo road and they are maintaining law and order.”
(Nigerian Tribune)
