Bureau-de-change traders attacked in Edo, 6 injured

Six people yesterday sustained injuries when hoodlums attacked some Hausa Bureau-de-change traders at Ekiosa market by third junction, Oredo local government area of Edo State.

It was gathered that the incident happened as a result of a disagreement between one of the hoodlums identified as Osazuwa and an Hausa Bureaude-change trader identified as Abubakar.

Trouble was said to have started at 11 am when Osazuwa accused Abubakar, who also worked as a night guard in one of the restaurants in the area, of stealing three bottles of bear at the bar after the bar owner had claimed that three bottles were missing.

It was gathered that Abubakar denied the allegation which led to an altercation between them and people intervened and the matter was settled.

But a witness, Muhammadu Bashir who spoke to our reporter, said Osazuwa left with a threat to return to deal with them.

Bashir said, “We thought he was joking because the boy is well known to us and he used to come and beg us for money. But after a while, he came with hoodlums armed with cutlasses and axes. As they were approaching, some police officers around arrested Osaze and took him to the police station.”

He said not too long after Osaze was arrested by the police, the hoodlums stormed the area again and started cutting some of them with machetes.

“Six people were injured before the police came. They have threatened to burn down our shops,” he said.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Chidi Nwanbuzor, confirmed the incident.