Soldiers, traders clash in Abuja market

There was pandemonium on Saturday afternoon at the popular Banex Plaza in the Wuse 2 area of Abuja when some traders engaged two soldiers in a fight.

Several viral videos of the incident seen on X showed some men overpowering and beating two soldiers (in uniforms) inside the complex where electronic gadgets and mobile phones are mostly sold.

Witnesses said the soldiers visited the plaza to complain about a phone, which caused an argument with the traders, and a fight ensued.

TheCable understands that many shop owners and traders quickly closed for the day after the incident to avoid being caught up in a reprisal attack.

However, things turned for the worse when armed soldiers later invaded the market hours after the assault, chasing people in different directions.

In subsequent videos shared on social media, traders were seen running helter-skelter as military vans were stationed at different spots around the plaza.

There are reports that the federal capital territory (FCT) police command eventually deployed its intelligence response team to the scene of the incident.

TheCable could not confirm the deployment of the intelligence response team, as Josephine Adeh, spokesperson of the FCT police command, was not immediately available for comments when contacted.