NORMALCY has been restored after a violent clash that erupted in the Gwarinpa area of Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The clash, which erupted on Saturday, April 22, lingered till Monday, April 24 and claimed two lives, according to medical officials at the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Medical Centre in Gwarinpa, where wounded residents were taken for treatment.
Some traders were also attacked in the process, and residents warned other members of the public to avoid the area via Twitter.
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“They are rioting in Gwarinpa. If you live in Gwarinpa, a riot is going on in 3rd Avenue, and it’s very much heated,” a Twitter user, Dr_Youngy, tweeted.
However, security operatives, including the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other members of the FCT Joint Task Force (JTF), were present at the scene to restore order following fresh unrest on Monday.
The ICIR reached out to the FCT Police Command to confirm the death toll and cause of the clash, but Public Relations Officer (PRO) Josephine Adeh said she could not give details of the incident at the time as she was in a meeting.
“Sorry, I’m in a meeting, I will call you when I can talk,” she said.
In 2022, there were violent clashes between traders and commercial motorcycle riders in the Dei-Dei area of the FCT, during which five people died and properties worth million were destroyed.
The crisis began after a motorcycle rider, conveying a female passenger, fell on the road in an attempt to overtake a trailer, leading to her death.
FCT Minister Muhammad Musa Bello ordered the temporary closure of the market following the incident, although it was reopened a week after.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.