Mayhem as Okada riders set Deidei market ablaze in Abuja

High tension gripped traders in Deidei community as irate motorcycle riders on Wednesday, in their numbers went on a rampage at the Timber market and set it ablaze, following altercations between the traders and the motorcycle riders after a woman was killed by a trailer driver.

One of the affected traders, Mr Kalu Nze who witnessed the accident, told journalists that the crisis started after a motorcycle carrying a woman ran into a trailer and the trailer crushed the woman to death, that after killing the woman, the driver of the trailer refused to stop and he drove off but was later caught at Deidei junction.

He said that the motorcycle riders in the area later mobilized themselves to recover the motorcycle that was involved in the accident from the scene of the accident, but some people around who witnessed what happened refused to give them the motorcycle and set it ablaze.

“That was the beginning of the crisis, the motorcycle riders who were visibly angry went back and mobilized themselves from every direction they could penetrate and decided to set the timber shades on fire.

“As I am speaking with you, all my goods are seriously affected, because my goods are positioned behind the markets. Their attacks were unexpected, as nobody thoughts that burning the motorcycle that led to the death of that innocent woman would lead to this crisis. All these motorcycle riders are always out of control, the government should do something about them.

“Also, a particular plaza close to the Timber market was also been vandalized. What I have lost in the fire, I cannot evaluate it, because most of my goods inside the market were affected,” he said.

Another trader Mr Johnson Uzor in a plaza said that a handful of soldiers who arrived at the scene on time were the ones that brought the crisis to control.

“But for now, everyone is where he or she can be safe. No fight presently, but the soldiers are on alert securing their building material shops, but the timber market was invaded from behind because timbers are highly inflammable and they were not happy that fire service could not come early, which led to the damage of the market.

“The goods that have gone down cannot be estimated at the moment. I can not even access the area of the crisis, because the military has prevented any kind of movement. It is after the whole crisis, I will be able to know the damage done to my goods, but it is worth millions,” he said.

As of the time of filing this report, FCT Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Josephine Adeh, told Tribune Online that the FCT Police command has brought the situation under control.

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