The busiest market in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Wuse Market, returned to its normal beehive status yesterday after witnessing another crisis following an attack on the market management staff by touts operating within the market.
Trouble started Monday morning when hoodlums in large numbers swooped on market-compliant officers, otherwise called Taskforce, who had just resumed duty after being transferred from other markets by the Abuja Markets Management Limited, the body in charge of several markets in the FCT.
In the end, three of the Market Management Staff were left in critical condition while others suffered various degrees of injuries. The Market office was not also spared as the miscreants descended on it, damaging any valuables on sight.
Speaking to journalists on the development, the HOD of Operations Abuja Markets Management, Innocent Amaechina, said that the hoodlums who have been operating as touts in the market attacked the staff of AMML who had just been redeployed to Wuse Market, obviously because these compliance officers effectively checkmate the menacing activities of the touts in the market.
He said that on sighting these particular staff, the touts, who, by their actions, knew of this transfer, swooped on our staff, leaving three of them severely injured.
Speaking further, Amaechi noted that no staff was sacked, contrary to a report that the hoodlums were protesting the return of a sacked staff.
According to him, he wondered how touts and hoodlums who had no stake in the market would be in a position to choose, let alone protest, who should or should not form part of the market management team.
While thanking the FCT Police Commissioner, Ben Igweh, for his prompt intervention in restoring normalcy to the market, the Market Managers assured the traders and other market users of their safety going forward.
“We are glad to report that the FCT Police are on top of this, and we are providing all necessary support alongside the Wuse Market Traders to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book,” he said.
“We are not unmindful of the trauma that our staff, the traders and other market users have gone through and the poor perception these occurrences can attract to the market and the FCT at large.
“We can assure all our stakeholders and the market users that we won’t let this slide. For this reason, we are putting far-reaching measures in place to engender sustainable sanity in the market,” he added.
