One feared killed as NSCDC, traders clash in Plateau market

One person was fatally shot, and several vehicles were smashed on Thursday following a clash between operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, and traders at Chorbe Market in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State.

The clash, according to traders, was triggered when NSCDC operatives invited by officials of the market traders association to enforce the weekly sanitation exercise attempted to force traders operating along the roadside to comply.

Traders who spoke with our correspondent said they resisted the move, insisting they were not part of the market association and should not be compelled to observe its sanitation directive.

“Our shops are along the road, not inside the market. We told them we are not part of their sanitation exercise, but they insisted we must close,” one of the traders, Malam Sani Musa, said.

Another trader, Grace John, who sells provisions close to the market, said the situation escalated when the armed operatives started harassing traders.

“They came with guns and started threatening us. When some of the traders refused, they started shooting. One person was shot, and, in the process, some hoodlums smashed windscreens of vehicles parked along the road,” she said.

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A vehicle owner, Ibrahim Yusuf, whose car was damaged, lamented the destruction.

“I just parked my car by the roadside to buy something. Before I came back, they had smashed the windscreen. Who will pay for this now?” he asked.

Our correspondent learnt that within minutes, streets around the market were deserted as residents fled into their houses and locked their doors.

There was pandemonium in adjoining areas, including Apata, Alikazaure, Katako and Masalachi, extending to Bauchi Road — areas described as hotspots of frequent clashes in Jos North.

The injured trader was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Efforts to reach the spokesman of the Plateau State Police Command, Alfred Alabo, were unsuccessful, as his phone could not be reached as of the time of filing this report.