The police have arrested nine persons for alleged involvement in a wave of violence that claimed four lives, including a pregnant woman in Ungwan Tiv village, Lugbe, a satellite town in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

An unidentified policeman was said to have also lost his car in the violence.

It was gathered that many structures were razed during the incident which occurred after three scavengers allegedly attacked and killed a pregnant woman for accusing them of stealing her missing cooking pot last Thursday.

A resident, Joshua Michael, narrated to our correspondent on Monday, April 20th, 2020 that the violence erupted after the scavengers allegedly stabbed the unidentified woman to death following arguments over the missing pot.

He stated,

Some scavengers were said to have stolen a cooking pot belonging to a pregnant woman. When she discovered that her pot was missing, she challenged the scavengers and angered by her boldness, the boys stabbed her to death.

The community people then went after the scavengers; they lynched three of them and also set the shanties where they lived on fire.

A woman, who was simply identified herself as Mama Jumoke, said residents of the community had been living in fear since the incident occurred.

She stated,

The victim was an Igbo woman, so the people there retaliated and killed three scavengers; they also burnt down the shanties where the scavengers were living. A car belonging to a policeman was also destroyed during the crisis.

Another resident, who identified herself as Joy, explained that the community had been deserted by the residents in the wake of the bloodshed.

She added,

The few residents remaining in the community could no longer sleep at night for fear of reprisals from the Hausa in the area. They have set up vigilantes to secure themselves. I had to relocate to my grandma’s house in Tudunwada.

But the FCT police spokesman, DSP Anjuguri Manzah, said normalcy had been restored in the community, adding that the nine suspects arrested in connection with the incident had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for interrogation.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.