Saturday morning was not one of the usual business days at the New Market in Benin City in Edo state. It was a day some of the traders unleashed the demons in them on one another.
Traders and residents of the busy area were in disarray as they witnessed what many of them could only see in a movie. It was a bloody Clash between an Igbo trader and Hausa trader that left the entire market in pandemonium.
According to the report in Punch Newspapers, the Igbo trader who opened his stall as early as Saturday morning in expectation of early morning business noticed a Hausa trader trying to put his wares in front of his shop.
He therefore instructed him to leave the spot so as to avoid unnecessary obstruction or blockade to his business. Apparently angered by the instruction, the Hausa trader was said to have challenged the Igbo trader for daring to order him away from the location.
Then, the argument started. Before anyone could say jack, the Hausa trader was said to have brought out a machete and descended on the Igbo trader. He allegedly inflicted several cuts on his body.
This was said to have infuriated the other Igbo traders in the market who decided to retaliate with a counter attack. This later degenerated into a free for all with the two tribes engaging in a bloody clash with one another.
A team of policemen from the state police command was immediately dispatched to the scene to forestall the total breakdown of law and order.
The Igbo trader who was severely injured had been admitted in a hospital for medical attention.
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