The Imo state Police command on Sunday said it was fire outbreak that destroyed the Hausa market in Avu, Owerri West council area of Imo state, and not hoodlums, nor government.
The State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Barde, made this known to newsmen in Owerri, while dismissing the report saying that hoodlums set ablaze the market.
Over the weekend, three markets, including Avu Junction and Hausa market, Nekede No 1 market and Arugu market in Owerri West Local Government were gutted by fire.
The fire, which many claimed was pre-planned against Northerners in the markets, destroyed goods worth millions of naira.
However, Imo State Commissioner of Police (CP) Mohammed Barde has debunked the allegation that the fire was an attack on northern traders.
Hausa Settlers Fault Imo Govt for Demolishing of Shops
According to a Daily Trust report, one person was killed and another injured while several shops and homes were burnt down during an alleged operation by government officials on some Hausa communities in Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State.
Multiple sources told reporters that the officials, believed to be agents of the Owerri Capital Development Authority (OCDA) and Environmental Transformation Agency (ENTRCO), alongside policemen set ablaze shops and properties in Avu Junction and Hausa market, Nekede No 1 market and Arugu market as part of the government’s efforts to remove alleged shanties and illegal structures.
“Several houses and shops belonging to northerners were burnt down, most of us are currently taking refuge in the bush and our Juma’at Mosque was equally demolished by the taskforce and the police,” said Nura Kabir Umar, a youth leader at Nekede No 1 market.
Umar, said tension started brewing on Thursday and climaxed on Sunday when policemen on the invitation of ENTRACO officials shot and killed a 35-year-old trader identified as Mudashir Muhammad and injured another.
Imo market fire not targeted at Hausa traders, says CP
In response to the traders’ accounts, the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Barde, denied allegations that the three markets were deliberately set ablaze, stating that the incident at Avu market was an inferno resulting in property loss and no casualties.
According to Police, “Good afternoon gentlemen of the press. I invite you here this afternoon to clear some misleading reports making the rounds on social media alleging that, hoodlums attacked and burnt the popular Hassan Market Avu which is not true.
“For the purpose of clearity, I wish to inform you that, the incident that happened at the market was a fire outbreak that led to loss of properties. No life was lost in the inferno and it’s under investigation and the outcome of our investigation will be made known to the public.
“I am pleased to inform you that, the Executive Governor of Imo State, His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodinma has been informed and directed arrangements be made for him to meet with those affected.”
“I wish to reassure the general public of the Command’s commitment in the protection of lives and property, and also advice them to disregard the video , as its the handiwork of mischief makers who wants to cause disaffection in the State. I want to use this medium to call on Imolites to disregard the illegal sit-at-home order and go about their lawful businesses without fear of molestation or attack.
“The Command and other security agencies have emplaced adequate security measures to checkmate any breach of peace and anyone found complicit will be made to face the full wrath of the law,” Police said.
Traders say otherwise
The traders, however, disputed the Commissioner’s statement, asserting that the attacks were targeted and executed by government officials and the police.
Narrating the genesis of the incident to Daily Trust, Musa Isa who had a provision store in the market said he lost goods close to N10 million in the incident.
“It started on Thursday at about 11am. We heard that some people had stormed Onitsha Road burning shops belonging to Hausa people and injuring many. Some of their properties, goods and money were stolen. Many of them were beaten up,” he said.
“Twenty minutes later, the taskforce and the police arrived at Nekede No. 1 market. They burnt houses and shops. They beat up people and the hoodlums confiscated our money.”
He said upon realising that some of the attackers were police officers, together with members of the Owerri Capital Development Authority (OCDA), and Environmental Transformation Agency (ENTRCO), they made efforts to contact other government officials to find out what was happening.
“We were not told anything; we asked our people not to take laws into their own hands,’’ he said.
One of the Hausa community leaders in the state, Lawan Fagge, when contacted by Daily Trust reporter also said suspected members of ENTACO group who claimed to be in operation to remove hoodlums from the area had burnt down their markets.
He said the attacks were carried out on three markets at Nekede No 1, Avu Junction, along Port Harcourt road, and Adugbo Park along Onitsha road.
CNG tells Northeners in South East to come back home
The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) called on all northerners living in the South East, especially Imo State, to leave immediately for their safety.
CNG’s spokesman, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, made the call in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, where he emphasized that no group had the power to hold innocent people to ransom.
The CNG also demanded the disbandment of militias and armed groups in the region to restore law and order.
He said, “We call on the federal government to take immediate steps to disband all militias and armed groups in Imo and other parts of the South East by resorting to the use of force if need be, to ensure that no group has the capacity to challenge the State in its prerogative to maintain law and order and protect citizens’ lives and properties.
“We reiterate the call on northerners living in Imo State and all unfriendly parts of the South East to consider leaving the region for the sake of their lives and properties.
“The call on the northerners to return to the North was borne out of the realisation that their lives had been put at risk due to the recent actions perpetrated in Imo.
“It is also worried about their well-being and the conviction that their safety can no longer be guaranteed and we would rather have them back in areas where their safety is guaranteed.
“The bottom line is that their safety is far more important than their stay there. This is a country we all wish to keep together but not at the expense of other sections,” he further stated.
CNG further demanded the establishment of a judicial enquiry saddled with the responsibility of determining the quantum loss of properties by northerners in the Imo attacks with a view to paying compensation due to each of the victims.
Good Evening Nigeria and Daily Trust