▪︎ Nigerians may soon resort to self-help, Vicar warns
The violence that engulfed the Dei-Dei Building Materials market in Abuja on Wednesday, 18th May, 2022, was not motivated by ethnicity or religion but was the action of criminal elements who started the violence in order to carry out their criminal intentions.
But his position differs from that of the Vicar of the St. Bartholomew Cathedral, Ven. Barr. Tunde Oyesina,
who read sectional reasons to the violence that claimed four lives. He warned that if government did not check the activities of persons from a part of the country, Nigerians may resort to self-help.
The clergyman, whose members lost their source of income to the carnage from commercial motorcyclists and hoodlums mainly from the Hausa community of the country, in a public letter to his church members promised help to them.
FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello who visited the market in the evening following the incident earlier on Wednesday, to ascertain for himself the cause and extent of the violence which also led to the razing of shops and vehicles within the market.
Accompanied by the Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council, Mr Abdullahi Adamu Candido, FCT Commissioner of Police Mr Sunday Babaji and other top security and senior officials of the FCTA, the Minister met with the various market and community leaders and took an assessment tour of damage in the market.
Speaking passionately after the tour, the Minister said “After an emergency security meeting with the relevant security agencies including the Commissioner of Police and the Director of the DSS and senior management officials of the FCT, we decided come here.
“And we came here specifically because on the social media, all kinds of stories are being circulated saying there is an inter-ethnic crisis in Abuja with one tribe fighting against the other.
“I have come here and met the leadership of the market, I have met the leadership of the communities and met the political leadership as represented by the Chairman and vice chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council, and what really came out very clearly was that this was an accident that occurred when a lady on a commercial motorcycle fell off and a vehicle ran over her and unfortunately, she passed on.
“As a result of this incident tension rose and hoodlums took over and like they do everywhere in the world, their target is economic assets and they burnt down a substantial part of the timber market and other markets around here and they burnt many vehicles.
“There was no communal clash here and I appeal to all residents of Abuja to continue to live here as we have always lived in peace as the center of unity.
But the vicar of the church stated in his letter: “With the deepest sympathy, the Dean of the Cathedral , the Rt. Rev. Dr. Duke T. Akamisoko , Cathedral Archdeacon, Ven. Barr. Tunde Oyesina , the Pastoral team , Cathedral Standing Committee and the entire St. Bartholomew Cathedral identify with you at this most trying period when , shops, investments and source of income, most especially at the Timber Shed came under a heavy attack by a section of the country.
The sight of the destruction can only be condemned by only those who know the worth of living and existence.
“As reliably informed , some of our brethren were affected by this dastard act of people who took laws into their hands to destroy people’s property.
“We hereby express our deepest sympathy to our affected brothers.
