Thousands of traders and artisans in Wuse market, Abuja, have lamented the stoppage of their means of livelihood, following a barricade by police operatives.
They also decried the killing of their colleague, whom they described as innocent. Heavily armed police officers, led by a female Area Commander, kept watch over the market and denied shop owners access, following a recent skirmish.
Reporters, however, were given access into the market. The barricade was emplaced as tension flared after the shooting of a hawker by officers of the Nigerian Correctional Service on Tuesday.
This led to a protest by angry youths and the setting ablaze of parts of the popular market. Burnt out and vandalised cars still littered the market yesterday.
Spokesperson for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, SP Jospehine Adeh, said: “Following the report of a civil unrest at Wuse Market on March 12, at about 3:30 p.m., the Commissioner of Police FCT Command, Benneth Igweh, personally led a team of operatives to the scene, assessed, and swiftly restored order.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that one Ibrahim Yahaya, 27, was apprehended by operatives of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) and was taken before a mobile court, which sits every Tuesday, in Wuse Market, and he was convicted.
“The suspect, alongside others, was being conveyed to the prison, when he reportedly jumped from the vehicle and took to his heels in an attempt to escape.
“Two armed corrections personnel who were in the vehicle went after him and in the process, shot him. The said Ibrahim Yahaya was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors confirmed him dead.
“The development led some irate mobs who witnessed the situation to set ablaze eight vehicles and 10 shops in the area.
“While normalcy has since been restored, and investigation is still ongoing, the Commissioner of Police FCT enjoins residents to peacefully go about their lawful businesses without fear.”
Adeh also confirmed that the officer who shot the man had been taken into custody. Meanwhile, traders in the market have maintained that their dead colleague was innocent.
One trader, simply identified as Danladi, said: “Yahaya was a hardworking man who always looked for his daily bread. He did not want to go to jail because he knew he did not commit any crime. That was why he jumped out of the vehicle.
Another, Hamisu, said: “They just killed him for nothing. Part of the market was not burnt by people inside the market; it was burnt by boys from Wuse 5, who were part of the people that carried his body. They did that out of anger.”
