Gulak, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, was shot dead on Saturday evening after he had reportedly left his hotel without his security details, according to the police.
At least 20 traders in
the Market Square in Owerri, Imo State are presently counting their losses
after personnel of the Nigerian Army and the police, aided by hoodlums looted
their shops while searching for the killers of Ahmed Gulak, former adviser to
Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.
SaharaReporters heard
from some of the traders who lamented that their means of livelihood were
ravaged by the uniformed men under the guise of searching for the suspects.
Gulak, a chieftain of
the All Progressives Congress, was shot dead on Saturday evening after he had
reportedly left his hotel without his security details, according to the
police.
SaharaReporters learnt
from the traders that some military personnel aided by hoodlums of northern
extraction after the incident mobilised to the market Square and “looted
wantonly in revenge.”
“The Northerners
living around Enyiogugu backed by military men, in the name of serving as
informants to aid the arrest of the killers, went from one big shop to the
other as they looted and packed away the goods. They prevented people from
taking videos and photos,” one of the traders told SaharaReporters.
SaharaReporters learnt
that the affected traders include; George Ndulaka, who lost assorted drinks;
Frank Akubueze also lost assorted drinks and his restaurant; Chidozie Njoku had
his assorted foodstuffs, fridge and generator carted away.
Meanwhile, Crescentia
Nwahuckwu lost bags of rice, many cartons of noodles, provisions and cartons of
wines and assorted drinks. Others who lost drinks were; John Akushie and
Chukwudi Nwagwu.
John Opara and
Onyinyechi Opara lost their generator sets, their refrigerators and their
drinks while Livinus Anufuro lost assorted electrical and electronic items.
A civic group also,
the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, on June 2, wrote
a petition to the Inspector General of Police, the Chairman of the Police Service
Commission and the Imo State Commissioner of Police, detailing the plight of
the affected traders.
“Contrary to the
statements of the Imo State Police Command, a lorry loaded with onions from
northern Nigeria and moving from Umuahia to Obowo and Ahiara was waylaid at
Enyiogugu Market Square in Aboh-Mbaise by aggrieved violent citizens leading to
passersby, including church goers and returnees and some Okada riders, etc.
scrambling for their share of the loot.
“In reprisal,
following phone calls by some northern Muslim civilians, soldiers stormed the
scene and opened fire in the crowded Market Square and shot indiscriminately
and in the end, scores of unarmed citizens were killed or injured. With the
killing of Mr. Gulak, security agencies including the Imo State Police Command
turned around and controversially linked the incident to the assassination and
labelled the slain and maimed victims as 'Eastern Security Network (ESN)'
hoodlums that killed Gulak”
“This was even after
the violent deviants that waylaid the lorry-load of onions had left the scene.
Cars displayed by the police as 'operational exhibits belonging to the ESN
hoodlums' are said to be those belonging to motorists using the route,” the
group said, while calling for detailed police investigation into the incident.
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