Tension enveloped Enugu on Thursday evening as Hausa cattle traders at the New Artisan Market attacked government officials and destroyed a police vehicle.

Drumnewsonline gathered reliably that the land was a subject of a court litigation between late Chief Gabriel Nnaji alias Nwajanja family and another. Enugu State Government had in a release signed by a Special Assistant to the State Governor on media, Steve Oruruo explained the fracas. However, the Nwajanja family was said to have secured judgment and wanted to execute it hence the fracas. However, an attempt to effect the execution was fiercely resisted by the Hausa traders, who reportedly went inside the market, brought several AK-47 rifles and chased away the officials and police detachment.

An eyewitness, who gave his name as Sampson Okorie, told our correspondent that the gun wielding Hausa traders also seized two bulldozers the state government deployed to the market and destroyed police Hilux vehicle

The vehicle, according to him, was abandoned by the police, who ran for their life when they could not escape with it. He said, “I was opposite the market when four police vehicles with about 10 policemen arrived at the place with people suspected to be government officials. Earlier in the day, two bulldozers were deployed to the area.

“Shortly after the police arrived, there were gunshots in the air. I came out from the shop where I was and saw people scampering for safety. The policemen were also running.

“The next thing I saw was gun wielding traders, who came out and blocked the NNPC end of the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway and stopping vehicular movement, just as they set up bonfires along the expressway. When the atmosphere became tense, I moved out of the area,” Okorie said.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Aliyu, confirmed the incident when contacted on telephone. Aliyu described the action of the traders as unfortunate, saying  the traders had a meeting with the State Governor, Mr Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, on Wednesday night, when they agreed to move out of the market on Thursday. The State government in the release signed by Mr Oruruo, warned that no brigandage from hoodlums would stop the execution of the court order.

Drumnewsonline further gathered that the State government took the mediation route to avoid insinuation that the execution had ethnic slant. Unfortunately as at last night, the news all over the town eventually took the slant instead of the real issue. The traders are trespassers and neither bought nor inherited the land space in question.

Source: Drumnewsonline with reports from The Punch