There was tension in
Enugu, yesterday, following the killing of two persons during a bloody clash
between some Igbo and Fulani at Gariki Market, Enugu.
Those killed were identified as one Ali, a Fulani man and Ifeanyi Ifeacho, an Igbo man.The incident happened on Wednesday evening. An eye witness said that trouble started in the market when Ali came from New Artisan market with a cow to slaughter in Gariki abattoir, where Ifeanyi worked as an attendant, following the closure of New Artisan market by the Enugu State government earlier this week.
According to an eye-witness, when Ali finished slaughtering his cow, he
gave Ifeanyi N400 instead of the N500 fee for slaughtering the cow in the
abattoir. Ifeanyi was said to have asked Ali to give him the remaining N100 but
the Fulani man remained adamant, insisting that he would not pay any other
money. The misunderstanding degenerated to a fight between the two during which
Ali pulled out a dagger and stabbed Ifeanyi severally on the stomach. Ifeanyi
slumped and died on the spot. Ali was said to have attempted to escape but some
traders grabbed and lynched him.
The angry Igbo traders later mobilized and
burnt down the mosque inside Gariki Market. Meanwhile, normalcy has returned,
following the deployment of anti-riot policemen to the market and environs even
as the Enugu State police Spokesman, Superintendent Ebere Amaraizu, confirmed
the story. Amaraizu said the command had already deployed anti-riot policemen
to Gariki market to stop the situation from escalating. His words: “Two persons
were confirmed dead yesterday in the course of a clash between an easterner and
a northerner over an alleged misunderstanding that arose between them at Gariki
Awkunanaw market.”
At press time, peace talk was ongoing between the Igbo and
Hausa-Fulani traders in the market. Contacted, the out-going Secretary General
of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr. Joe Nworgu, said he did not have details of the
incident and cannot comment on it. Also the Chief Press Secretary to Governor
Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Uwakwe Abugu, did not pick his calls and failed to reply to a
text message sent to him over the matter.
No comments:
Post a Comment