By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
Three persons , comprising of two women and a young boy, have reportedly died in community clash involving scanvengers popularly known as baban Bola and residents of Byazhin area in Kubwa , Bwari Area Council of the FCT.
According to an eyewitness, Jessica Adam, said that trouble started when a baban bola attempted to steal a woman’s pot of soup was overpowered and beaten up by other neighbors and passers-by after the woman shouted.
As if that was not enough to deter the embittered scavenger who went to mobilize hoodlums at about 8:00pm with different weapons including matches , clubs, sticks and clubs in retaliation and began to attack randomly innocent residents, killing the woman whose pot of soup was earlier stolen.
Shortly, two other passers-by , a yet to be identified woman and a young boy, who unfortunately walked into the mist of the of attacks were also killed.
According to another eyewitness who spoke on Condition of anonymity said, “They killed two people yesterday, the Community has been in chaos since yesterday and 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.”
“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, anld you cannot pass through there alone, especially in the evening”, he said.
A resident in the community, who spoke with PUNCH Metro on the condition of anonymity, also confirmed the death of the three persons but said he had no clue as to what may have started 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, anld you cannot pass through there alone, especially in the evening”, he said.
However, the Commissioner of Police, FCT Police Command. CP Bennett Igweh, who spoke with our correspondent via a telephone call, said that the event as a “disturbance”, adding that no one died, but 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”, CP Igweh said.
