Lawless Nigerian Army Personnel Detain, Torture Abuja Shop Owner Who Honoured Invitation Over Incident At Banex Plaza

Personnel of the Nigerian Army have detained a shop owner identified as Caleb Onyemaeachi Chidera who honoured their invitation over Saturday’s clash between some soldiers and customers at the New Banex Plaza in Abuja.

 

SaharaReporters had reported how the Nigerian Army Corps of Military Police on Saturday evening reportedly stormed Banex Plaza in Abuja and beat up passersby and security guards.

 

The assault on civilians was said to be a reprisal for an earlier free-for-all that broke out between four military police personnel and some traders at the popular electronics and telecommunications gadget market earlier on Saturday.

 

The soldiers’ attacks on civilians and show-of-force by the military police came a few hours after the FCT Commissioner of Police, Bennet Igweh, settled the scuffle between the soldiers and the traders at the police command.

SaharaReporters gathered the army came back to the plaza on Monday morning to arrest some people whom they claimed were involved in the assault against their officers. 

 

One of the identified people was Enomfon Abasiono Udofia, a trader inside the plaza who always went to Caleb’s shop to pick goods.

 

During a telephone conversation with SaharaReporters on Tuesday morning, Caleb’s wife said it was because of the trading relationship between her husband and Enomfon that made the army authorities invite him which he honoured on Monday evening. 

The woman mentioned that the army refused to release her husband and continues to brutalise him without any charges. 

 

She added that her husband "is currently being jailed at Mambilla Barracks, Asokoro, and the army authorities did not allow any of his relatives to visit him."

 

She said, “My husband called me yesterday that his name was given out to the army saying he was among those that fought them. He said he told them that he had nothing to do with the situation.

 

“He was later asked to come see them which he honoured and since then they kept him at Mambilla Barracks at their duty room.

 

“I just gave birth through a CS (surgery) and I had to find him through his live location but they didn’t let me see him. They sent me away. Last night he texted me that they tortured him so badly and broke his foot,” she added.