Suspected hoodlums early Tuesday morning caused pandemonium in the popular Mandate market when they reportedly engaged in a free for all.
Two persons said to be involved in the melee were feared killed.
It was gathered that the hoodlums suspected to be of both Hausa and Yoruba stocks, engaged in violent fight over minor trading and bargaining issue over sugarcane, and freely used dangerous weapons such as knives.
It was also learnt that some persons, who sustained stab wounds, had been rushed to the nearby general hospital.
However, there were two accounts on the cause of the incident as some of the traders in the popular food market said that argument between two persons buying sugarcane led to the fight.
Another version had it that some of the miscreants that usually milled around the market started the fight with one of the victims leading to pandemonium.
Eyewitness account revealed that commercial activities were halted while the trouble lasted as mobile policemen later arrived to ensure normalcy returned to the market.
The traders in the market, however, expressed apprehension of another possible attack if the issue is not well handled.
According to a release signed by the spokesman of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC in the State Babawale Zaid Afolabi and made available to the newsmen on Tuesday, in Ilorin said “it took the timely arrival of the NSCDC operatives and other security personnel to prevent what could have resulted in bloody ethnic clash.
” We get a distress call on Tuesday that there was a clash between Yoruba and Hausa at Mandate market and we quickly mobilized our men to the scene in order to prevent total breakdown of law and other”. Babawale disclosed
Trouble started when a Yoruba man reportedly bought a sugarcane worth N50 naira from Hausa seller but found out that the sugarcane. was not sweet. The Yoruba man’s request to change the sugarcane did not go down well with the Hausa man. The latter was accused of stabbing the Yoruba man and this resulted in free for all fight between Hausa and Yoruba inside the market.
In the meantime the Yoruba man who sustained minor knife injury was taken cottage hospital where he is responding to treatment. Meanwhile there large presence of security personnel from n and around the market premises to order to prevent any form of reprisal or further breakdown of law and order.
” The NSCDC Commandant in the State Iskilu Ayinla Makinde has been briefed of the incident and has ordered 24 hours surveillance and and presence of our armed plain cloth personnel around the market premises and all the flash points have also been identified and necessary actions have been taken” The CDPRO concluded.
End.