Following the clash between soldiers and traders at Banex Plaza in the Federal Capital Territory on Saturday, a shop owner named Caleb Onyemaeachi has been detained by the Nigerian Army at the Mambilla Barracks in Asokoro, Abuja. Our correspondent learned that Onyemaeachi was summoned by military authorities in connection with the incident.
According to reports, the Nigerian Army Corps of Military Police stormed Banex Plaza on Saturday evening, allegedly assaulting passersby and security guards. This action was purportedly a retaliatory measure following an earlier altercation between four military police personnel and some traders at the market earlier that day.
The soldiers’ aggression towards civilians occurred shortly after the FCT Commissioner of Police intervened and resolved the initial conflict between the soldiers and traders at the police command.
Subsequently, soldiers returned to the plaza on Monday morning to apprehend individuals allegedly involved in the assault against their fellow officers. Among those identified was Enomfon Udofia, a businessman who frequented Onyemaeachi’s shop.
However, in a statement to the press on Tuesday, Caleb’s wife asserted that her husband was unjustly detained due to his business relationship with Udofia. She claimed that despite Caleb’s innocence, the army refused to release him and subjected him to brutality without formal charges.
Expressing her distress, she disclosed that Caleb was being held at Mambilla Barracks in Asokoro, and army authorities denied his relatives access to visit him. She recounted Caleb’s account of being accused by the army, despite his innocence, and being confined to the barracks’ duty room since his summons. Additionally, she lamented that she was prevented from seeing him, even resorting to tracking his location to no avail. She further alleged that Caleb had been subjected to severe torture, resulting in a broken foot.
Efforts to obtain comments from the Nigerian Army spokesperson, Onyema Nwachukwu, were unsuccessful as he could not be reached for a response on Tuesday.
