Nigeria Police Force boss Mohammed Adamu on Monday deployed “intervention and stabilisation forces” to Oyo State over the ethnic conflicts happening in the state.

Adamu said the deployment is “to reclaim the public space, reinforce security and bolster public confidence in the areas affected by the recent crisis in the State.”

According to the police boss, the deployments, consist of “intelligence and operational assets of the Force, include four Units of the Police Mobile Force, seasoned operatives from the Force Intelligence Bureau and one operational/surveillance Police helicopter from the Police Air-wing.”

Adamu said the intervention team is being coordinated by a Deputy Inspector General of Police, DIG David Folawiyo, who is expected to mobilize all relevant stakeholders towards achieving the mandate of the squad.

The deployment came after the state has been subjected to ethnic tensions and conflicts as members of Yorubas and Hausa communities faced off.

On Thursday at Shasha market in Ibadan, a clash erupted following a heated argument between a pregnant Yoruba woman and a Hausa porter over waste disposal.

The argument led to a violent clash between the Yorubas and the Hausas in the Shasha community after a cobbler named Shakirudeen Adé?lá, reportedly died from a hit by the porter while trying to broker peace between the woman and the porter.

Usman Yako, chair of the Hausa traders association at Shasha market, told Reuters by telephone at least 11 people from his ethnic group were killed in clashes at the market on Friday and Saturday.

The clash also led to the destruction of houses and shops in the community.

-Guardian