Hausa traders who were ordered to stop selling their wares on the main road in Mile 12 area of Lagos state reportedly engaged soldiers in a clash.
Eyewitnesses told The Punch online that the soldiers were passing by Ikorodu road and when they got to Mile 12 they met heavy traffic. On discovering that the cause of the jam was traders selling their goods on the road, the soldiers ordered the traders to clear the way.
While others cleared their goods, the Hausa traders refused to leave and brought out cutlasses to resist the orders of the soldiers who were in their patrol vans.
The incident which started at around 2pm on Monday afternoon caused people in the area to flee, fearing for their lives.
A woman simply identified as Ajoke who owns a shop in the Mile 12 area confirmed to a Punch online correspondent saying, “Some Hausa traders started the fight in the afternoon.
The soldiers sent everybody away from the road, but they refused to leave. No vehicle or bus could drive pass as the Hausa traders threatened pedestrians and commercial drivers with cutlasses.”
The incident reportedly lasted for about an hour.
Those who tried to board the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in the area were prevented from doing so by the rampaging Hausa traders.
When contacted, the Lagos state police spokesman, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, said he would be addressing pressmen on the situation but has yet to do so.
The Mile 12 market is one of the largest markets in Lagos state, popular for its large number of Hausa traders who sell vegetables and foodstuffs at cheap prices.
But the marketers are also notorious for selling their wares on the road which causes a lot of traffic on the major roads. Lagosians have begged the state government to clear the area just as it cleared another market area in the state, Oshodi, which is famous for selling clothes.
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