There was pandemonium at the popular Banex Shopping Plaza in Wuse 2 in Abuja when some military personnel in camouflage stormed the plaza few hours after their colleagues were assaulted by thugs.
Some thugs suspected to be traders had attacked at least three soldiers after an argument over a faulty mobile device.
The thugs allegedly broke into groups and descended on the soldiers in uniform.
Some traders had closed for the day and fled home to apparently avoid being caught up in a reprisal attack.
However, hours after the assault, armed soldiers invaded the market chasing people in different directions.
In a video of the incident, someone was heard screaming, “This is World War 2.”
It was unclear if there were any casualties as at the time of filing this report.
The police had earlier deployed its men to the area to prevent a breakdown of law and order.
In a statement from the FCT command titled, “BANNEX UNREST: FCT POLICE ADDRESSES SITUATION, RESTORES NORMALCY IN NEW BANNEX AND ENVIRONS” the police said, “Following a reported unrest at Bannex Plaza today being May 18, 2024 at about 01:30 PM, involving some occupants of the plaza, customers and some soldiers, operatives of the FCT police command, swiftly mobilized to scene, assessed situation and restored order.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that one Suleiman Ahmed who had earlier gotten a phone from one Suleiman Ibrahim, a shop owner at New Bannex, went with four soldiers to persuade the seller for replacement upon discovery that the phone is faulty, which met the resistance of the shop owner. This action resulted in a confrontation and squabble with the military personnel. This development led some irate mobs to attack the military personnel which led to an uproar in the environ.
“All parties were invited for questioning, the military personnel have been handed over to their organization for necessary action to be taken.
“While normalcy has since been restored in Bannex and its environs, the Commissioner of Police FCT, CP Benneth Igweh psc, mni, urges residents to peacefully go about their lawful businesses without fear from any quarters,” according to SP Josephine Adeh, Police Public Relations Officer who spoke unbehave of the Commissioner of Police FCT Police Command.
