Northerners living and doing different businesses in the southern states, particularly those in Abia, Imo, Rivers, Ogun and Lagos, who were trapped in the aftermath of the popular #EndSARS protests, recall their gruesome experiences during and after the #EndSARS protests.
According to them, they recorded huge losses; precious lives were lost and property worth billions of naira destroyed.
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“I was getting ready to open my shop when one of the residents, a friend of mine, told me not to open and run for my life. I hurriedly locked up my shop and left. In less than 20 minutes, I sighted many boys with all kinds of objects heading towards my shop.
“I hid somewhere and watched them from there. I heard them shouting ‘where is that aboki’? They vandalised my shop and later set it ablaze. I am very grateful to that boy who gave me information; if not I would have been a dead man.”
That was the account of Adamu Mustapha, one of the victims who escaped the attack on northerners in Oyigbo, Rivers State, following the #EndSARS protests.
Adamu, who escaped death by the whiskers, is grateful to Allah for keeping him alive and also to the young lad who gave him prior information about the attack.
Another young man from Zamfara State, Idris Abubakar, who was badly injured in Fagba community in Ifako Ijaye area of Lagos State, narrated his experience.
“We got information that violence had erupted and some women and children were caught in between, so, we went in search of them. I saw a married woman and held her hand alongside her child.
“As we were going home, we found two children whose parents had fled, leaving them behind. I took both of them and continued to walk towards home until we stumbled on the rioters.
“They started beating and hitting me. When I realized I might be killed and the children too; I ran for my life with one of them. I can’t tell the fate of the other one. I had several cuts on my head and back. Alhamdulillah, I am recuperating,” he said.
The same cannot be said of those who were not fortunate to be alive to tell their own stories. A lot of them were hacked to death by miscreants who hijacked the #EndSARS protest to attack innocent northerners doing their legitimate businesses in some southern states of the country.
10 Killed in Rivers Community
Northerners living close to Port Harcourt in Rivers State confirmed losing ten persons from their community in the onslaught launched against them by the #EndSARS protesters.
One of the Arewa community leaders in Rivers State, Alhaji Musa Sa’idu, who confirmed this to Daily Trust Saturday, said “The urchins killed ten of our members; some even got slaughtered and dumped by the roadside. It was some of our brethrens that found and recovered their bodies.
“As I am speaking to you, hundreds of northerners are taking refuge in Port Harcourt, we cook and deliver food for them,” he said.
Daily Trust Saturday gathered that at the onset of the protests, truckloads of food and animals brought by northern merchants were set ablaze; a situation that created anxiety in the Arewa community.
A resident of Port Harcourt, Malam Saminu Bello, says “We’re in anguish, there’s no way one can go out in search of food or engage in their businesses. Government should ameliorate the situation.”
Garba Idris, another resident, said that whenever they walk around the city of Port Harcourt, they’re greeted with humiliations and abuses by the natives.
Most of the people Daily Trust Saturday interviewed said the level of hatred is enormous, particularly when the leaders of their host states are indifferent and reluctant to avert the situation.
Abia State
Northern traders engaged in onion business at the popular Onion market in Aba, Abia State, say six of their members were killed and 41 vehicles including 29 trucks burnt.
Chairman of the Onion Market in Aba, Alhaji Salisu Danwanzam, told Daily Trust Saturday that three people were killed at the Aba onion market.
He named the deceased persons as Abdullahi Kaura, a Kano State indigene; Kasimu Aleiro from Kebbi State and Isa Musa from Taraba State. He also noted that three other unidentified persons were also killed.
Alhaji Salisu explained that out of about 50 trucks parked at the market, 29 were burnt to ashes alongside 12 other vehicles owned by the northerners for ferrying goods.”
A resident of Aba, Alhaji Sa’idu Bala, speaking to Daily Trust Saturday said: “I’ve never witnessed such catastrophe. When these young #EndSARS protesters came to our market, security personnel fled the scene, leaving us to our fate.
“They pounced on us with machetes and carted away our goods. Some of the protesters were wielding heavy guns, so we had no choice than to run away to safety,” said Balarabe Kabir.
Speaking, a brother to late Kasimu Aliero, Abdullahi Danmaske, said his brother was a bachelor and was hit by a bullet fired by one of the protesters as he stood by a truck.
Also speaking to Daily Trust Saturday, Bilyaminu Sauke, whose brother Abdullahi Kaura was killed, said his brother left behind four wives and eight children.
“He was running as they were being pursued, and in the process was hit by a stray bullet.”
Alhaji Salisu Danwanzam said they lost about N7bn due to the crisis. He said nine truckloads of onions, with 270 bags of onion in each truck, were set on fire. He also noted that 103 rice and beans sellers’ shops were razed.
Imo State
In Imo State, 26 traders at the Onion Market in Orlu were ferried to Owerri, the state capital, after the #EndSARS protesters attacked them.
Alhaji Sulaiman Ibrahim Sulaiman, younger brother of Sarkin Hausawan Owerri, who confirmed this to Daily Trust Saturday, said Governor Hope Uzodinma gave families of the deceased persons killed at Orlu Onion Market a relief package of N500,000.
“The governor gave the family of the second victim killed in the carnage N500,000 as food package.
“Two people were killed at the Onion Market. The first person was shot by the protesters and he was rushed to the hospital, while the second person, was a driver whose beans was looted by the protesters and was shot dead as he tried to start his truck.”
Alhaji Sulaiman went on to say he doesn’t know if the first person killed was a family man, but stated that the driver was a father of two children and two wives.
“It’s his family that the governor donated N500,000 cash for their upkeep. I talked to his family over the phone a couple of days ago.”
Alhaji Sulaiman also told our correspondent that last week Friday, he was in Orlu to facilitate the movement of 26 persons to Owerri for onward movement to their native towns. He noted that they’re hale and hearty.
According to him, the governor gave each of them N10, 000 for their transport fare back home. But he refuted social media claims that several vehicles were set on fire.
‘We didn’t experience any threats in Calabar’
The #EndSARS protesters in Calabar last week Friday looted shops and government warehouses which resulted in the state government imposing a curfew in the state.
The Hausa communities in Calabar, speaking to Daily Trust Saturday, said they’re not confronted with any form of threats, intimidation or attack whilst the chaos lasted.
They said that security was beefed up at Bagobiri Street, a Hausa community area, as soldiers were dispatched to the area to stop any potential attack by miscreants.
Muhammad Aminu, a resident there, said “We were not attacked. However, we lived miserably as we couldn’t go out in search of food.”
Salamatu Bello said “We suffered staying indoors as getting food to eat became difficult.”
A’isha Abdallah, a food vendor, said soldiers chased them back to their homes and she had a deficit for the food she had made for sale that day.
‘We lost 25 northerners in Lagos’
The Fagba community in Lagos came under heavy attacks in the aftermath of the #EndSARS protest in the state leading to loss of lives and properties.
The Hausa community in the area under Ifakojaye Local Government also suffered many casualties as the crisis which took ethnic dimension with claim and counter-claim over the circumstances leading to the carnage witnessed in the hitherto calm environment.
Apart from the loss of lives, several properties and shops were burnt in the violence which spread to Oja Oba, Agric, Panada, Elere, Iju Station, Akute, Alamutu, Obawole, among others.
One of the northern leaders living in Lagos, Alhaji Ado Shu’aibu Dansudu, told Daily Trust Saturday that northerners living in the state were thrown into anguish and apprehension.
“Our people were attacked and their properties burnt. In Fagba area of Ifako Ijaye, at least 25 of our members were killed.”
He said at the Abattoir area in Agege Oko-Oba, also in Ifako Ijaye Local Government Area, dozens of trucks carrying animals were set on fire while some cows and goats were stolen.
“But later, those who stole the cows were promised and given incentives of N20,000 to return the stolen cows. The rams, goats and sheep stolen haven’t been retrieved,” he said.
He said northern youths sought to revenge the attack launched at the abattoir but were stopped by the leaders.
The Sarkin Fulanin Abattoir Market, Alhaji Muhammadu Dan-Mubaffa, seized the opportunity and organized an emergency meeting just after #EndSARS protesters attacked truck drivers conveying cattle, and called on the northerners to steer clear of any trouble.
Youth leader at Cattle Market in Abattoir, Alhaji Muhammadu Tom, said by the morning of Wednesday, October 21, they had collected 8 bodies of truck drivers and their boys as well.
He said some of them were burnt beyond recognition while some were severely butchered.
“We got relevant documents from police and buried them at Agege cemetery. Some of them were identified by their relatives while some got burnt beyond recognition.
“There was a Nigerien national who was killed, his relatives took his body and buried, a water vendor was also killed alongside his wife. We found their bodies inside their room. Two cattle trucks were set on fire and seven others smashed,” he said.
According to him, northerners living at Fagba area had relocated their families to Agege, but Yoruba community leaders asked them to return to the area.
At Ajegunle and Apapa areas of Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government Area, when hoodlums set the secretariat ablaze, the Hausa community was apprehensive.
Malam Musa Nayis, a Special Adviser to the council’s chairman, said, “Having realized that the protest had taken another dimension, it’s very difficult for one to have peace of mind. People became tensed when the urchins started setting public and private properties ablaze,” he said.
‘How our relatives were killed’
A relative of Ibrahim Dodo, an indigene of Banki Local Government Area of Borno State and a commercial motorcyclist who was killed at Fagba carnage, Muhammad Nasiru, said the deceased was caught up in the chaos while doing his business.
“We lived in the same compound with his father in Banki before his parents moved to Mubi. When I came to Lagos, he followed me here to become a commercial motorcyclist, which he just started, before he was killed.”
Narrating what happened, Muhammad Nasiru said he was told that Ibrahim fell down after being pursued and beaten with machetes and other objects. His corpse was taken to Fagba Junction and a tyre put on him and set ablaze.
We couldn’t perform burial rites as they were burnt to ashes. They burnt no fewer than seven people, including a nursing mother,” he said.
Malam Usman Musa, who lost his younger brother, Mustafa Muhammad Musa, told Daily Trust Saturday that his brother got stuck in the chaos and the miscreants hacked him to death with machete Thursday last week.
“When we got the information, we immediately mobilized to the scene. They’d killed him but didn’t set his body on fire yet, so we took the body and buried at Agege Cemetery.
“He left behind three children and a wife. He’s a butcher at Abattoir slaughterhouse,” he said.
Bashir Abba, who lost a brother named Mustafa Idris, an indigene of Sani Mainagge area in Gwale Local Government Area of Kano State, said his brother was killed while trying to rescue some women and children trapped in the Fagba carnage.
“When he was told that there’re some women and children trapped in chaos, he went there and took them to a safe area.
“He then went back to rescue another man who had several cuts on his body. While carrying the man, they slit his neck and he died on the spot.
“We observed his funeral prayer and buried him at Agege cemetery. He had a wife and four children in Kano,” he said.
Sani Salisu Danmuttaqa, the chairman of Northern Nigeria Youth Organization (NNYO) Lagos State Chapter told Daily Trust Saturday that the mayhem at Fagba was caused by Area Boys and some scavengers during the #EndSars protest.
“The hoodlums were attacking the truck drivers conveying goods from the North, extorting money from them. In the process, nine drivers were stabbed to death, and trucks fully loaded with cattle and goats were set on fire.
“The clashes were not between the Hausa and Yoruba communities, but among some thugs who were from both sides,” he said.
He added that a seven-man fact-finding Committee has been set up to find out what happened.
“I, as the chairman of the state chapter, met with Baale of Fagba and some Hausa Community leaders to get details of the crisis,” he said.
He also said the report given to the state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the time of his visit to the crisis scene did not reflect the actual happening.
“I was there when the governor visited the scene on Tuesday but the report given to His Excellency did not reflect the actual incident,” he added.
Malam Musa Nice, Special Adviser to the Chairman of Ajeromi Ifelodun LGA condemned how some people took advantage of the protest to cause mayhem.
“Citizens have remained in a state of panic since the peaceful protests turned violent, with thugs burning government properties and private properties, we need to work towards avoiding this in the future, we must learn to live together,” he said.
Alhaji Ado Shu’aibu Dansudu, one of the Northern leaders in Lagos, told Daily Trust Saturday that northerners in Lagos regretted the violence which led to the destruction of lives and properties, while appealing to his people to remain calm and peaceful in the face of provocation.
Sanwo-Olu
Meanwhile, the state governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu who paid an on-the-spot visit to the crisis zone, blamed the clash on miscreants.
He vowed to rid the area of the miscreants just as he also promised to assist those affected in the area.
He said: “The level of destruction that I have seen here is colossal; it is unfortunate. Enumeration would start immediately by the two local governments. The council chairmen and all the community leaders will come together and come up with a list of those whose properties have been destroyed.”
Stressing the need for miscreants to vacate Fagba, Governor Sanwo-Olu said: “We are coming to clear this whole place and we will make sure that you do not disturb or harass the peace-loving people that we have in this neighbourhood. We have Hausa community, Igbo community and Yoruba community and they are living well.
“You need to look for what to do; we will not allow you to come and tarnish the image and the peace that we have in Fagba and in Lagos State as a whole.”
‘Victims Dumped inside a Well’
Leader of the Northern community in Rivers State, Alhaji Musa Saidu, noted that about 15 Hausa residents in Rivers State were killed by hoodlums under the guise of #EndSARS protest.
Alhaji Musa Saidu, who spoke to our reporter in Port Harcourt, said the victims, many of whom were killed in Etche and other parts of the state by the hoodlums, had their remains set ablaze.
He said the leadership of the Hausa community had to retrieve their bodies and they were buried on Friday and Sunday respectively at the Onne Trailer Park in Eleme Local Government Area.
“On Friday, we buried eight persons, while three others were buried on Sunday. Some of the victims were killed and dumped inside a well. We had to pull them out from the well and bury them. In all, about 15 persons were killed in the state by hoodlums,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Port Harcourt Muslim community revealed the identities of ten of their members who were reportedly murdered at different locations in Rivers State.
Yahya Shittu (1), the son of the Seriki Hausa community at Eleme, was burnt at Eleme Junction, while two other corpses (Adamu Bello and Amadu Bello) were recovered on Sunday inside Boro pit.
Others include
- Sulaiman Dan Lafiya Killed and burnt at Oyigbo
- Ibrahim Abdullahi killed and burnt at Irebehe
- Idris Bello killed at Irebehe, Oyigbo
- Isa Kaki ‘no be leather’ killed at Irebehe Oyigbo
- Abubakar Me turare killed at Rumuokwurusi
- Isiyaka Ibrahim killed at Rumuokwurusi
The nine victims were said to have been buried in accordance with Islamic rite, while the corpse of the last victim, Babangida Sulaiman, couldn’t be found because it was alleged to have been thrown into the river.
ACF, NEF React
The Arewa Consultative Forum, (ACF) and the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) have raised an alarm over the alleged killings of northerners in some southern states by the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) who were reported to have unleashed mayhem on Northerners.
ACF National Publicity Secretary, Emmanuel Yawe in a statement in Kaduna said it received a report from its state chairman in Rivers State, Alhaji Ibrahim Tukur Tudunwada that northerners living in Rivers and Abia states were being held hostage by members of IPOB.
The statement called on the federal government to act immediately to save the lives of the affected northerners.
It alleged that about 30 northerners have been killed, while 50 buses, trailers and trucks belonging to northerners in the said states have been destroyed by IPOB.
ACF commended Rivers state Governor Neysom Wike for his prompt response to the crisis and appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to take decisive action to save the lives of all Nigerians wherever they reside as northerners who survived the mayhem now lived in constant fear.
Ohanaeze Counter Claim
Meanwhile, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council, on Wednesday described the claims by both ACF and NEF as false and unfounded.
The youth group, in a statement by its Secretary-General, Nnabuike Okwu, said the allegation was a “propagandistic move and a ploy to complicate issues and incite violence against Southerners.”
Governor Nyesom Wike signed an Executive Order enforcing the proscription of IPOB in the state. He warned the group to stay off the state.
