Days after shutting down Abuja’s Banex Plaza over traders attack on a colleague, an unidentified woman collapsed on Tuesday at a military checkpoint stationed at the Plaza after she was assaulted by one of the soldiers.
A taxi driver named Olaewe Ojo, an eyewitness, claimed that the woman was in the checkpoint’s restricted area.
“The military personnel shouted at her and slapped her to move to the other lane, and out of fear, she fell and collapsed on the spot,” he said.
A soldier who spoke on the condition of anonymity said force was not applied against her. but she “collapsed out of fear.”
He said: “As you can see, we rushed her with our hilux to the nearest hospital to avoid any further complications.
“We didn’t slap her; we only told her to move away from the restricted zone, and in seconds we saw her on the floor. We have established contact with her family from her phone.”
When asked about when they will vacate Banex Plaza and allow traders to return to their businesses, the soldier said: “We have not been given any date or time frame.”
According to Persecondnews, there was pandemonium at the plaza on Saturday afternoon when some traders engaged two soldiers in a fight.
The soldiers visited the plaza to complain about a phone one of them bought, which led to an argument and a free-for-all at the market, according to witnesses.
Many shop owners and traders swiftly closed for the day following the incident to avoid being the target of a retaliatory attack.
On Monday, military personnel arrived in about five Hilux vehicles and reportedly shut down the plaza.
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