Reports say, three persons, including two women and a young boy, have reportedly lost their lives 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 FCT.
According to an eyewitness, who identified herself as Jessica Adam, told journalists that a Baban Bola attempted to steal a woman’s pot of soup, but was overpowered and beaten up after the woman alerted neighbors and passers-by.
The embittered Baban Bola then went away and mobilized hoodlums who returned at about 8pm wielding weapons including machetes, clubs, and stones and began attacking residents at random, eventually killing the woman whose pot of soup was earlier stolen.
It was also gathered that two others, a woman and a young boy, reported to be passers-by sadly ran into the middle of the crisis, and were also killed, they were, however, 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,” Ms Adams added.
A resident in the community, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, also confirmed the death of the three persons but said he had no clue as to what may have triggered 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 press time, it was learnt that schools and shops in the area have been shut down, as parents scampered to pick up kids from their classrooms, while shops remained closed as of Wednesday 15th May.
Meanwhile, as of the time of filing this report, the FCT police command has yet to release a statement concerning the incident as the Police Public Relations Officer of the Command, SP Josephine Adeh’s number was not reachable.
