The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mohammad Bello, on Wednesday ordered the indefinite closure of Dei-Dei International Market following a clash between commercial motorcyclists and traders.
The Minister also directed the community and the market leaders to fish out the hoodlums responsible for the crisis.
Bello gave the order after inspecting the scene of the incident with FCT Commissioner of Police Sunday Babaji, Director State Security Services, other heads of security agencies and top officials of the FCT Administration.
Trouble started in the market when a female trader yet to be identified fell off a commercial motorcycle and was crushed to death by an articulated vehicle.
Bello said: “The community and market leaders must fish out hoodlums and bad eggs among them.
“Unfortunately this time around, hoodlums carry arms and they shot innocent people.
“As a matter of fact, I saw four corpses.
“This is very sad and totally, unequivocally unacceptable in Abuja.
“We have agreed with security agencies that full scale investigations will be done and the communities have to be part and parcel of the solution or else there will be no peace.
“In the interim, the timber market and the surrounding markets, including all the activities on roads that have clustered the road and made it impassable will all stop until the technical team reviews everything and then we will take the next decision.”
Bello said that there was no tribal or religious misunderstanding because all the leadership of various communities have lived in peace for many years.
“This is simply a matter of criminals and hoodlums taking the laws into their hands,” he said.
The Vice Chairman, Timber Shed Market, Dei-Dei, Ifeanyi Chibata, told the Minister and his team that 45 to 50 shops were burnt with 25 vehicles set ablaze, with total put at over N1 billion.
Also, the Secretary Tomato and Onion Sellers Association Dei-Dei, Dahiru Mani, disclosed that four persons were killed during the clash in the market.
Mani appealed to Bello to ensure the provision of a police division with adequate personnel in the market.