The state government has ordered the immediate closure of Bodija market in Ibadan, Oyo State until further notice, for security reasons. Following the death of four persons, including a pregnant woman hit by stray bullet.
Many others are reportedly injured during the protest between members of the National Union of Butchers (NUB) at the popular Market.
Trouble started when butchers allegedly confronted the policemen deployed to enforce a court order for sealing off the Bodija abattoir, on relocation order issued to the butchers by the state government.
The government, having completed a modern abattoir at Amosun village, had ordered the butchers in the capital city to relocate to the new facility.
It also withdrew the licence of existing abattoirs in Ibadan.
But the refusal of some of the butchers to comply with the directive propelled the government to secure a court injunction sealing off the Bodija, Aleshinloye and Sango abattoirs.
But butchers at the Bodija abattoir were said to have ignored the court order and continued their activities. This led to the mayhem, which grounded business activities in the market.
The police station inside the market was razed by the protesters.
Five vehicles parked inside the police station were burnt while three others outside the premises were vandalised.
