How Northern Mob Set Fire To Igbo Market In Dei-Dei, Abuja, Destroying Goods Worth Hundreds Of Millions, Leaving About 5 Dead

Early Wednesday (18-05-2022) afternoon, a northern mob attack which led to the death of about 4 Ndi Igbo, plus two others, and the burning of Igbo businesses and properties took place.

Various news houses have reported half-truths in a hurry and used clever words, as usual, to disguise what really happened. But we will expose it all, and give you the full details.

*Viewers’ Discretion is Advised*

THE WHOLE STORY:

From about 11 am to 12noon, a Yoruba/Edo woman, named Bukola Ruth Kosoko, was being carried by a bike-man (Okada rider) of Northern extraction. In their usual recklessness and hurry, the Okada man ended up losing control of his bike and throwing the woman on the road. She was then crushed by a gas truck and died instantly. Eyewitnesses say she was seen asking the Okada rider to slow down, but he was adamant and continued speeding.

The deceased woman went to eat and went back towards the Dei-Dei junction to join her relatives and friends who were walking around and seeking funds to support her late brother’s burial. So, in other words, she died while running around to bury her dead brother.

Continuing… Out of anger, those standing by approached and apprehended the Okada man, in response to the gruesome nature of the Bukola’s death. It caused a scene. Other Okada men and passersby stopped (in their usual manner) to defend him. The crowd that had gathered held onto him, but video evidence shows that there were one or two policemen at the scene to douse the tensions.

The Okada man who caused the woman’s death was then taken to a secure location by the Chairman of Timber-Shed who was called to intervene in the matter.

The Okada man was not killed, as is erroneously published online. After he was taken to safety by the Chairman, the angry mob around Timber-Shed went ahead to burn his bike.

The Northern boys were already gathering and had started to throw stones at those who tried to apprehend the Okada man. The tensions kept on rising. And seeing that the bike was burnt, they went to Dei-Dei junction to spread the news and gather as many of their people as possible.

Not long after that, the Northern mob (almajiri, bike men, etc,) had a large number at Dei-Dei junction, Dakwa Junction (opposite Dei-Dei junction), Tomato market, and its environs, mobilized themselves, and attacked the Timber-shed international market. They started by destroying and burning cars and then burnt many warehouses and shops.

Reports have it that one Igbo man was killed and burnt inside of his shop. At the same time, others were killed in the market or the vicinities where the riot spread.

The Igbo traders who were taken unawares ran, regrouped, and then returned to defend their lives and properties. This riot then spread across the whole of the market area, reaching the entrance to Saburi (where Ndi Igbo live), Fillindabo, and stretched as far as Gwagwa. But the focal point of the mob was to kill the Igbo at the Dei-Dei market and destroy their businesses, worth billions of naira.

At the time of gathering this report, we have counted four Igbo men who lost their lives in the attack on the Timber-Shed market. The pictures are attached below. *Viewers’ Discretion is Advised*

The Northern mob was not satisfied, so they tried to invade the building material section of the Dei-Dei international market. When they were repelled by the Igbo men (and others) who own businesses there, they went to the back of the market and tried to gain entrance. The northern mob was repelled and they finally resulted in shelling the market with stones, which damaged some goods and injured a few people.

The military arrived on the scene about 2-3 hours later after there has been the loss of human lives and a massive loss of property. They were able to get the chaos under control.

The army shot in the air when the Igbo businessmen tried to chase after the Northern mob. They continued doing this till the northern Mob got larger, and then the army started to shoot in the air to scare off the northern mob. The military was able to get everything under control and the mob dispersed.

The FCT Minister, Mohammed Musa Bello in the company of the FCT Commissioner of Police Sunday Babaji, Director of State Security Services, and other sister security agencies, arrived at the scene of the chaos in the evening. After inspecting the damages and loss of life, he directed the market authorities to shut down the market till Monday, the 23rd of May, 2022, as consultations and investigations are made into the matter.

The minister charged the market leaders and community leaders to join hands in fishing out the hoodlums that caused the destruction in the market.

The vice-chairman of Timber Shed Market in Dei-Dei, Ifeanyi Chibata, informed the minister and his team that 0ver 50 shops and 25 vehicles belonging to Ndi Igbo, totaling over N1Billion naira were set ablaze by the Northern mob.