There was pandemonium at the Science Equipment Market, Onitsha Bridgehead in Anambra, as members of the Anambra State Anti-Touting Squad allegedly shot one person dead, injuring several others.
According to reports trouble started at the market when men of the Anambra State Anti-Touting Squad invaded the area in search of someone who was said to have urinated in a restricted area and ran into the market for cover.
Eyewitnesses said the operatives shot indiscriminately for over two hours in the market, making traders scamper to safety, leading to destruction and looting of people’s goods.
One of the traders who simply identified himself as Okonkwo told PUNCH that:
“Yesterday, was a black Friday in this market, the operatives killed a man simply because he urinated along the Onitsha-Asaba Expressway.
“After urinating, the boy ran into the market as the operatives chased him. When they entered the market, they started shooting. This caused pandemonium in the market as many sellers and buyers in the market sustained severe injuries while scampering to safety.
“Stray bullets hit two people who were rushed to the hospital after they had left. The victims sell drugs at Ogboogwu market. People’s goods were also destroyed and looted. They sealed our toilets and started collecting money from anyone they saw who urinated outside. This is the cause of the problem.”
The Anambra State Police Command’s spokesman, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, while confirming the incident, said the state Commissioner of Police, Aderemi Adeoye, has ordered a probe into the development.
“The Commissioner of Police, CP Adeoye has ordered the immediate transfer of a reported murder incident that happened at the head bridge market by 4:30 pm, on Friday.
“Our officers led by the DPO head bridge, on receipt of the information, moved to the scene and saw a young man in a pool of blood while another was injured.
“The victims were rushed to the hospital where the doctor confirmed one dead. The police also recovered six expended cartridges from the scene. Further details shall be communicated, please,” Ikenga added.
