Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo on Sunday condemned the violence that led to the loss of lives at the Shasha Market, in Oyo State, urging Nigerians to resist the urge to resort to self-help in the slightest prompting.
Osinbajo sued for peace between the northern traders and those in the southwest, saying that when any one commits act of criminality it should be treated as such not resorting to ethnic clashes.
Osinbajo spoke to journalists after he paid a condolence visit to the family of the late Chief Lateef Jakande in Lagos State.
The Vice President said the market had been a melting pot for traders bringing foodstuff from the north to the southwest for decades and they have lived in peace and even inter-married.
He urged Nigerians to ensure that they see it for what it is, (a criminal act) which must be punished according to law and not as an ethnic conflict.
Osinbajo said it is the constitutional right of every Nigerian to live, work and enjoy their lives in safety, peace under the law.
Osinbajo, a law professor, said however that it is incumbent of the government through the police and other law enforcement agencies to arrest and prosecute any person who commits a crime against a citizen.
He urged also the the citizens to assist the police in identifying the criminals.
As per his words, “We must never take the law into our own hands, if we do we will be promoting chaos, and a breakdown of law and order, and all of us especially the most vulnerable amongst us, will be at risk.
“I urge all community leaders to work together to preserve the brotherly co-existence that our people from different parts of the country have enjoyed in Shasha market for several decades. “
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed that his administration will protect all religious and ethnic groups, whether in the majority or minority.
He condemned the violence that erupted in lbadan, promising prompt actions by his administration to ensure such developments are nipped on the bud.
Buhari made the promise in a statement issued on Sunday.
He warned that the government will not allow any ethnic or religious group to whip up hatred and violence against other groups.
Buhari appealed to religious and traditional leaders as well governors and other elected leaders across the country to join hands with the Federal Government to ensure that communities in their domain are not splintered along ethnic and other primordial lines.
