By Anne Osemekeh, Abuja
The military has withdrawn its personnel from, and reopened the popular Banex Plaza in Wuse 2, Abuja for business after over a week of siege on the market.
The plaza is said to have resumed business activities at 2:30pm on Monday.
TheFact Daily recalls that the market was sealed by military authorities on May 18, following a violent clash between traders and military personnel, which started when thugs allegedly beat up some soldiers who had a disagreement with a trader in the plaza over a bad phone sold to someone, who then invited soldiers to resolve the issue. Although the police intervened, soldiers later stormed the plaza, forcing traders to shut down immediately.
Following the shutdown, the House of Representatives had last week urged the Federal Government and the Nigerian Army to immediately reopen the Banex Plaza in Abuja for normal business activities to resume. They called on those concerned to leverage technology, such as surveillance and closed circuit television cameras (CCTV), to identify and apprehend the perpetrators of the attack on Army personnel at the plaza.
The House mandated its Committees on National Security and Intelligence, Defence and Police Affairs to investigate the circumstances leading to the closure of Banex Plaza and the military’s involvement.
