Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Irked by the killings of Nigerians in South Africa in the ongoing xenophobic attacks, some Nigerians have burnt down one of the offices of MTN Nigeria, in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Our correspondent gathered that the office was set ablaze at about 11 pm on Tuesday in Bodija; the facility was directly opposite Diamond Bank Building between Osuntokun Junction and Methodist Church Nigeria, Bodija Circuit headquarters.
A commercial motorcyclist, who preferred anonymity told our correspondent on Wednesday, the irate youths stormed the office at some minutes to 11 p.m on Tuesday.
“I passed through this place around some minutes to 11 on Tuesday night and I saw a group of people in front of the MTN office. I went to make a u-turn and parked on the other side of the road, from where I watched.
“They saw the security guard and asked him if the members of staff were around and he said they have all gone home. Immediately, they descended on the guard and beat him. As they were beating him, he was trying to escape and he eventually ran away.
“Thereafter, they entered the office. One of them soaked something that looked like a loaf of bread in a liquid that I suspected to be petrol. He threw it at the building and another person also threw fire in the direction of the object. The next thing I saw was that the office went up in flames. Immediately, that happened, I started my motorcycle and sped away before security agents would arrive and shoot at the mob. I didn’t want to be caught by a stray bullet.”
Meanwhile, some security agents were seen in the vicinity of the burnt office, while two officers of Oyo State Traffic Management Agency (OYSTMA) were also stationed at the office.
The other business premises of South Africans in Ibadan, including Shoprite outlets at Ring Road, and Dugbe, Ibadan, were under lock and key for fear of more attacks. They outlets were allegedly looted partially by some people suspected to be hoodlums on Tuesday.
In the same vein, MTN offices at Mobil in Ring Road, Idi-Ape, and Agodi did not open on Wednesday. But a group that went to protest at Shoprite, Dugbe, did not have a field day as policemen prevented them from wreaking havoc.
Meanwhile, Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Mr. Shina Olukolu, has enjoined people of the state to be cautious, saying the faceless individuals that have been mobilising themselves to attack economic and business interests of South Africa in the state should desist from the “dastardly act as it is an ill wind that will blow no one any good.”
He appealed to the aggrieved citizens for calm and allow the government to use diplomatic means to resolve the logjam, advising organisers of such protest not to allow it to degenerate to violence as social miscreants could capitalise on the opportunity to unleash mayhem and terror on innocent citizens as well as use the “opportunity to loot shops and destroy goods worth millions of naira. They might as well as inflict injury or even kill innocent citizens who will bear the brunt of the mayhem.”
Olukolu, however, warned that the police as the lead agency in internal security would not fold their arms and allow any individual or groups to cause chaos or breakdown of law and order.