A trader, Abubakar Bello, and a teenager, simply identified as Abba, were allegedly shot by security operatives who accompanied FCT Administration (FCTA) officials who carried out a demolition exercise in Karmo town in Abuja on Wednesday.
City & Crime reports that officials of the Development Control Department of the FCTA began demolition of structures at the Karmo Market to decongest the area.
A resident said while Bello was treated at the Gwarinpa General Hospital, Abba was rushed to the Kubwa General Hospital.
Another resident, Lawali Muhammad, said the shooting took place when the demolition team was approaching the central mosque which shared a boundary with the market.
He said, “I met their leader and tried to plead with him in order to calm the tension and he told me that their mission was just to clear the mosque premises and not to demolish the main building.
“But some youths who were not satisfied with the explanation started pelting stones towards the bulldozers. That was when their leader directed them to shoot guns, and sadly two persons were affected.’’
One of the victims, Bello, said he was busy parking out his goods from the shop when he noticed he was hit on one of his legs.
He said, “I quit the work and headed towards my house where my wife assisted me to ascertain the spot of the injury.
“I then went to a pharmacy where I was advised to proceed to the hospital. I was treated at the Gwarinpa General Hospital and discharged before sunset.’’
Efforts to reach the Director of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, yielded no result.
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