A group of hoodlums on Tuesday night attacked the residents of Byhazin, a suburb in Kubwa, in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja and injured many residents.
SaharaReporters gathered that some scavengers, popularly known as Bababola, attempted to steal a pot of food from a roadside restaurant at Millionaires Quarters but were resisted when the owner sighted them and raised the alarm.
The alarm reportedly alerted some passersby and customers at the restaurant, who descended on the suspects and beat them up.
The scavengers escaped being lynched.
The situation forced the scavengers to regroup and storm the estate in anger for a reprisal which led to a free for all. Many people sustained varying degrees of injuries in the process.
The mayhem which lasted for hours further degenerated as the youths in the area confronted the hoodlums and vowed to protect their community.
Several gunshots were reportedly heard by residents.
The pandemonium disrupted both vehicular and human movements in the area as the Divisional Police Officer in Byhazin deployed officers to the scene to forestall further breakdown of law and order.
Residents were seen running in different directions to avoid being caught up in the mayhem. Armed policemen were sighted at the popular Liberty Junction, leading to Millionaires Quarters.
Surprisingly, the residents on Wednesday morning woke up to a fresh threat of attacks by some youth who insisted on attacking the community but were repelled by the combined efforts of the youths and the security agents.
At the time of filing this report, many offices and shops in the community were locked as the streets and local market in the area were desolated following the promise by the attackers to return and unleash mayhem on the community.
Meanwhile, some of the residents who spoke to SaharaReporters appealed to the police and all relevant authorities to come to the aid of the community, saying many of them can no longer sleep peacefully.
The FCT Police Spokesperson, Josephine Adeh was not available for comments when SaharaReporters tried to reach her on the phone.
