One person was reportedly killed on Thursday after a violent confrontation between personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and traders at Chorbe Market in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Several vehicles were also reportedly damaged during the clash, while traders and residents fled the area as the confrontation escalated.
The incident reportedly started when NSCDC personnel were invited by officials of the market traders’ association to enforce a weekly sanitation exercise, during which roadside traders were asked to shut their shops.
Some of the affected traders, however, reportedly resisted the directive, arguing that their businesses were located along the roadside and that they were not members of the market association.
A trader, Sani Musa, said the traders questioned why they should participate in an exercise organised by an association they did not belong to.
“Our shops are along the road, not inside the market. We told them we are not part of their sanitation exercise, but they insisted we must close,” Musa said.
Another trader, Grace John, alleged that the situation became violent after armed NSCDC personnel began confronting traders who refused to comply.
“They came with guns and started threatening us. When some refused, they started shooting. One person was hit, and hoodlums smashed windscreens of parked vehicles,” she alleged.
The circumstances surrounding the reported shooting and the identity of the person killed had yet to be independently established as of the time of filing this report.
The clash also reportedly triggered panic in surrounding communities, with residents fleeing as the disturbance spread towards areas including Apata, Alikazaure, Katako, Masalachi and Bauchi Road.
The affected areas are among communities in Jos North that have previously witnessed communal and other security-related disturbances.
A vehicle owner, Ibrahim Yusuf, who said his car was damaged during the incident, expressed frustration over the destruction.
“I just parked my car to buy something. Before I came back, they had smashed the windscreen. Who will pay for this now?” he asked.
A trader who sustained injuries was reportedly taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The incident has also raised concerns over the enforcement of market sanitation regulations and the manner in which disputes between traders and enforcement personnel are handled.
Efforts to obtain the reaction of the Plateau State Police Command through its spokesman, Alfred Alabo, were unsuccessful as of press time.
The NSCDC had also not responded to the allegations contained in the accounts of the traders cited in this report as of the time of publication.
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