Two people were killed at
Ama Hausa, Owerri, Imo State capital, following a misunderstanding between a
Hausa trader and an indigene of Owerri municipality,
Business
activities were hurriedly shut in parts of the capital city, especially along
the ever busy Douglas Road, and the adjoining streets, as news of the face-off
spread like wild fire.
The timely
arrival of a detachment of armed soldiers and policemen saved what would have
snowballed into real inter-tribal conflict in the city.
Although there
were several accounts to the incident, one of the stories that made the rounds
revealed that the alleged Owerri indigene and his team were in the area to
collect the usual daily toll from the Hausa traders, before the
misunderstanding reared its ugly head.
A man from the
North, who claimed to have witnessed the incident, said the Hausa trader, who
got unduly incensed by what he called “incessant harassment” by the toll
collectors, took his knife and unleashed an attack on the indigene.
The man said the
victim quickly grabbed one of the knives on the Hausa man’s table and struck
his attacker.
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Society