Banex Plaza Remains Closed As Soldiers Occupy Electronics Market Following Assault On Troops
Banex Plaza, an electronics and telecommunications gadget market in Abuja, is still under lock and key.
Our correspondent who visited the market on Monday morning found soldiers across the plaza.
Some traders who assembled at a distance from the plaza were seen leaving after waiting for hours.
None of them agreed to speak with our correspondents but they were heard lamenting the cost implication of having the plaza shut on a major day like Monday.
Trouble started when thugs beat up some soldiers who had a minor disagreement with a trader in the plaza.
The trader had reportedly sold a bad phone to someone who invited soldiers. Rather than resolve the issue amicably, the trader reportedly invited thugs who assaulted the uniform men.
They descended on at least two soldiers and another man in mufti. The thugs who broke into groups slapped, kicked and beat up the soldiers.
Although the police stepped in to resolve the situation, soldiers later stormed the plaza, forcing traders to shut down immediately.
Some videos on social media showed soldiers chasing a crowd of people and punishing a few others.
When our correspondent visited on Monday morning, military vans were seen stationed across different spots at the plaza.
Some troops also patrolled the plaza in Wuse 2, Abuja, in their vans.
The army has been silent on the action at the plaza as Onyema Nwachukwu has not made an official comment as of the time of filing this report.
