SEVERAL properties were destroyed during an attack by motorcycle (okada) riders on Same Global Estate in the Lokogoma area of Abuja on Sunday.
The ICIR learnt that the unrest had resulted from an accident which left two people dead.
A motorcyclist who identified himself as Sule told The ICIR that trouble started after a motorist killed an okada rider and one other in an accident around the area, and ran into the estate for safety.
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“The person that killed people ran into Same Global. Okada people went to the estate to look for him, and couldn’t find him, so they started burning things,” he said.
Speaking with The ICIR, the estate chairman, Ashinze Onero said the motorcycle riders had made attempts to break into the estate and destroyed some buildings in the process.
“The motorist ran into the estate and the bike riders were after him. But somehow they were stopped by the security men and that aggravated the situation.
“In their usual way, they took laws into their hands, set bonfires and were throwing pebbles on houses. They made attempts to come in,” he said.
Reacting to the incident, the FCT Police Command, had said in a statement that no houses were burnt during the attack.
“The FCT Commissioner of Police, CP Babaji Sunday, was on the ground with a heavy deployment of operatives for an on-the-spot assessment. It is imperative to equally state that contrary to information filtering about, no house was burnt,” it read.
The ICIR, however, observed that the security house at the entrance of the estate had been burnt, and a building close to the gate had been destroyed.
The estate chairman, Onero also noted that the situation would have escalated but for the quick intervention of security operatives.
“The bonfires torched a part of the security house, but no house was really burnt. There were some attempts, but thank God, we had to reach out to relevant security authorities and the police came to our rescue.
“We also enjoyed the goodwill of some of our very high-ranking military personnel, they called for some military back up and they were able to tame the situation,” he said.
He noted that policemen had been stationed at the estate to ensure that normalcy is maintained
Another resident of estate Dotun Omoyele also told The ICIR that the unrest would have gotten worse but for security intervention.
“We appreciate the effort of the policemen. Thank God we have the police post here, coupled with the fact that some there are some generals living here who have security details attached to them. They were the ones that joined the policemen to repel these guys, if not for their efforts, things would have gone otherwise,” he said.
This development comes less than two weeks after motorcycle riders attacked a market at the Dei-Dei area of the city, burning down shops in a rampage that led to at least four deaths.
The crisis had occurred after a motorcyclist conveying a female passenger, fell on the road while driving what people described as recklessly, leading to her death.
A mob had burnt down his motorcycle and this led to a reprisal attack.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.