Community leaders meet over OPC crisis

Following violent ethnic clashes last week at a Lagos market, leaders of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) and the pan-Ndigbo Foundation (PNF) held a peace meeting and resolved to prevent future conflict, ‘The Guardian’ reported on Friday. The two organisations are made up of members of the Yoruba and Igbo communities. According to a joint statement, the leader of the OPC, Frederick Fasehun, and PNF chairman Ochedo Okeke agreed to take steps to highlight the importance of cooperation between the two ethnic groups. They resolved to formulate ways to coordinate crisis prevention and resolution at the local government council and state levels. They also agreed to send a joint delegation to the scene of the incident to assess the situation, ‘The Guardian’ reported. During last week’s clashes at the Ojo-Alaba International Market, OPC members killed Igbo traders who they alleged were robbers and Igbos retaliated by killing OPC members. A media source in Lagos told IRIN that up to 15 people were killed on both sides.