Personnel of the Imo State Police Command took control of the MCC, Uratta-Toronto axis in Owerri North LGA following a deadly clash between residents and officials of the State Environment Transformation Agency Commission, ENTRACO, a task force set up by the state government to monitor illegal parking and trade along major roads within the capital city.
The clash was reported to have occurred on the Toronto axis of MCC Uratta Road, Owerri, following a violent clash between staff of the state government agency and local residents, which reportedly left many people injured.
A resident of the area, who did not want to be named, told Newslodge that a fierce fight broke out between ENTRACO officials and residents after members of the task force attempted to seize a machine belonging to a PoS operator for setting up an umbrella in an unauthorized area.
The PoS operator, according to the source, resisted the attempt, insisting that the ENTRACO official had no right to confiscate his trading equipment. He maintained that the official hours for its operation had passed and that no government official should be working at that time of night.
“The young woman warned that she would call her friend if he continued with his threats, a warning that ENTRACO staff ignored. Unbeknownst to him, said friend of the PoS operator was a police officer, who arrived at the scene dressed as a mufti and demanded to know what had happened,” the source revealed.
Newslodge gathered that during the process of recovering the machine from ENTRACO personnel, the latter allegedly slapped the police officer and threatened to deal with him, prompting the officer to retaliate.
The standoff reportedly turned into a full-scale clash when the task force returned the next day in large numbers, chasing merchants and residents around the axis. Stores were allegedly vandalized and phones, motorcycles, bags of rice, gallons of peanut oil and other valuables were taken.
The situation worsened when residents and merchants from neighboring areas came out in droves to confront the ENTRACO team in defense.
Newslodge further learned that before the incident, authorities had ordered traders operating in the area to move to a government-designated area to reduce traffic obstruction.
Following the development, the victims of the attack are demanding justice and calling for quick intervention from the state government. They accused ENTRACO officers of incessant harassment, intimidation and looting, claiming that similar incidents had occurred several times in the past.
Responding to the incident, ENTRACO spokesperson, Darlington Chidera Ibekwe, in a press statement made available to newsmen, stated that the clash was sparked by certain individuals who attempted to prevent the agency from carrying out its legitimate functions.
He explained that the Toronto Junction Market had previously been relocated by the Owerri North Local Council authority due to its unsuitability and the safety risks it posed within the area.
The ENTRACO spokesperson said the recent attack on its staff by traders was unnecessary, adding that the agency remained committed to carrying out its operations within the ambit of the law and that no intimidation, no matter how great, would deter it.
He further accused the Imo State Police Command personnel stationed in the area of ​​not doing enough to assist the agency in enforcing the relocation of the market.