There was pandemonium in the early hours of Wednesday as traders in Alaba International Market, Ojo Local Government Area Lagos, clashed with motor touts.
One person was feared killed while many people were injured, and some vehicles were smashed by the rampaging touts popularly known as Agberos who attacked traders.
At the time of filling this report, Soldiers and the Police have taken over the scene while the market remained closed.
A trader, who simply identified himself as Chukwura, told our correspondent that one person lost his life while many people were injured by the touts, who were armed with guns, machetes, dagars, charms, and other cudgels. If not for the quick intervention of security agencies, the casualties would have been more devasting as the touts wanted to burn down the market as they were also armed with fuel and lighters. Some of the hoodlums were shouting that we should go back to the east and leave their state alone. They were calling us all sorts of names: Obidiots, Biafra, IPOB, etc”.
Trouble started on Tuesday when the market task force gathered its members to chase away the touts who they warned not to come to the market any longer.
It was gathered that in the early hours of Wednesday, the touts who regrouped with others from other motor parks stormed the market to reclaim their stands, but they were resisted by the market task force.
A trader, Josy Nwankwo, told our correspondent, ” we are traders and we keep our environment clean. We do environmental sanitation every Thursday, and that is why we don’t attend to customers till after 10 am on the day set outside for the cleaning exercise, but we noticed that the Agberos keep littering the road. We have public toilets that we pay for and use when we are pressed, but the touts would defecate and urinate anywhere. The Local Government workers would be blaming the traders for the mess caused by the Agberos. Again, the touts had the effrontery to be issuing tickets to traders. So, we decided that they should leave the market for us.
” We had a series of meetings with the leadership of the motor park, but they refused to make a change, hence we decided that enough is enough that they must leave us. We now chased them away because it is because of the Market that they have a motor park in the market. This morning, they stormed the market with dangerous weapons, shouting that we should leave for our states and leave Lagos for them. Well, this time around, we told them that they don’t have an exclusive reserve for madness, so we resisted fire for fire.
” The Local Government knows that we are organized, but rather than blame the touts, the management is blaming traders for the offense of the touts. We are calling on the State Government to wade into the issue and educate the Ojo local government councils on what to do. On our part, we are organised and we have a task force that goes around to implement discipline, but the touts don’t have, yet they won’t adhere to simple instructions of cleanliness and orderliness. All they know is to collect money from drivers, but can’t invest part of it in keeping their environment clean and safe. That is the problem.
A Police officer from the Ojo police Division told our correspondent that the Divisional Police Officer was forced to call for reinforcement from other police formations and sisters agencies, especially the Army before the crisis would degenerate into a tribal war, ” we are on the ground because Alaba international market, is very crucial and anything that happens to it will affect millions of people. I won’t be able to tell you whether we arrested anybody or not, because we are now concerned with saving the situation which is what we are still doing”.
Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said the police and other sister agencies were on the ground keeping vigils.
He said,
” No arrest was made and there was no record of death, but I can assure you that our men and sister agencies are on the ground keeping vigil”.
