The Nigerian Army, on Tuesday, broke silence on a recent unrest involving soldiers and some civilians at Banex Plaza in the Wuse of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
Army spokesman, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, said the plaza was shut after the incident on Saturday, May 18, 2024 to probe the “cruel treatment” meted out to “unarmed soldiers” by some persons at the trade plaza.
He said the attack on the soldiers was “entirely unwarranted and unjustifiable”.
The Army said a “meeting was convened with the management of Banex Plaza to identify and apprehend the perpetrators of the heinous act by temporarily shutting down activities in the plaza to ensure that the hoodlums who have been using the Banex neighborhood as a sanctuary to pose a security threat to the Federal Capital Territory were apprehended”.
“This, is in furtherance of the need for extensive investigation to be conducted at the scene to determine both the immediate and underlying causes of this mayhem.
“This investigation ultimately aims at ensuring the security of the Federal Capital Territory and to prevent such unwarranted attacks on own personnel and other security operatives, as has been observed in other areas, such as the unfortunate attack in Okuama,” the statement added.
The Army condemned attack on its personnel and enjoined members of the public to exercise caution and restraint in dealing with military personnel and other security operatives, urging Nigerians to explore official channels to report grievances or misconduct by its personnel.
Soldiers and policemen had over the weekend taken over the popular plaza after a scuffle involving traders and soldiers.
A sourced explained that the fight ensued at the area after three soldiers met a trader over a phone issue.
The involved parties appeared to have disagreed over the phone matter, further escalating the situation.
The trader, whose shop was located at the complex, alleged that the phone dealers ganged up and overpowered the unidentified soldiers and a civilian.
According to the police account, one Suleiman Ahmed got a phone from one Suleiman Ibrahim, a shop owner at the Banex Plaza. The buyer later 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.