Three persons, including two women and a young boy, have reportedly been killed in a clash between local scavengers, otherwise referred to as Baban bola, and residents of the Byazhin community, in Kubwa, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory.
An eyewitness, who identified herself as Jessica Adam, told our correspondent that a “Baban bola’’ attempted to steal a woman’s pot of soup, but was overpowered and beaten up after the woman alerted neighbours and passers-by.
Our correspondent learnt that the embittered scavenger then went away and mobilised hoodlums who returned at about 8:00 pm wielding weapons including machetes, clubs, and stones and began attacking residents at random, eventually killing the woman whose pot of soup was earlier stolen.
In the continuing attack, two others, a woman and a young boy, reported to be passers-by who unfortunately ran into the middle of the crisis, were also killed. They, however, have yet to be identified.
“They killed two people yesterday. The community has been in chaos since yesterday. The crisis continued till this morning when they killed somebody again. So far, three persons have been killed and many injured. The police intervened and restored normalcy, but no arrest was made. The police have intensified their patrol in the Byazhin area of Kubwa to prevent them from regrouping”, Adam narrated.
A resident in the community, who spoke with PUNCH Metro on the condition of anonymity because he was scared of his safety, also confirmed the death of the three persons but said he had no clue as to what might have caused the clash.
“Yes, the riot started yesterday. And by this morning, we learnt that three persons have been killed. It happened in Byazhin around that Millionaire’s Quarters, behind that Living Faith Church. That place is usually dangerous, because it is quite lonely, and you cannot pass through there alone, especially in the evening”, he said.
As of the time of filing this report, PUNCH Metro gathered that schools and shops in the area had been closed down, as parents scampered to pick up their schoolchildren from their classrooms, and shops refused to open as of Wednesday morning.
Efforts to reach the Police Public Relations Officer of the FCT, SP Josephine Adeh, proved abortive, as her telephone number was repeatedly unreachable.
However, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Bennett Igweh, who spoke with our correspondent via a telephone call, described the event as a “disturbance”, adding that no one died, and a victim who was macheted was receiving treatment at the hospital.
“They started their disturbance, but we have calmed everywhere down. The person who was macheted is in the hospital, only one person. No person has died”, he said.
PUNCH
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