The personnel of the Imo State Police Command have taken control of the MCC, Uratta-Toronto axis in Owerri North LGA following a deadly clash between residents and officials of the State Environmental Transformation Agency Commission, ENTRACO, a task force set up by the state government to monitor illegal parking and trading along major roads within the capital city.
It was reported that the clash occurred at the Toronto axis of MCC Uratta Road, Owerri, following a violent confrontation between staff of the state government agency and local residents, which reportedly left many people injured.
A resident from the area, who did not wish to be named, told DAILY POST that a fierce scuffle ensued between ENTRACO officials and residents after members of the task force attempted to seize a machine belonging to a PoS operator for mounting an umbrella at an unauthorised area.
The PoS operator, according to the source, resisted the attempt, insisting that the ENTRACO official had no right to confiscate her business equipment. She argued that the official hours for their operation had elapsed and that no government official should be working at that time of night.
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“The young woman warned that she would call her friend if he continued with his threats, a warning the ENTRACO staff ignored. Unknown to him, the said friend of the PoS operator was a police officer, who arrived at the scene in mufti and demanded to know what transpired,” the source revealed.
DAILY POST gathered that during the process of retrieving the machine from the ENTRACO staff, the latter allegedly slapped the police officer and threatened to deal with him, prompting the officer to retaliate.
The confrontation reportedly escalated into a full-scale clash as the task force returned the following day in large numbers, pursuing traders and residents around the axis. Shops were allegedly vandalised, while phones, motorcycles, bags of rice, gallons of groundnut oil, and other valuables were carted away.
The situation worsened as residents and traders from neighbouring areas trooped out to confront the ENTRACO team in defence.
DAILY POST further learnt that before the incident, traders operating in the area had earlier been directed by the authorities to relocate to a government-designated area to reduce traffic obstruction.
Following the development, victims of the attack are demanding justice and calling for the quick intervention of the state government. They accused ENTRACO operatives of incessant harassment, intimidation, and looting, alleging that such incidents had occurred several times in the past.
Reacting to the incident, ENTRACO spokesperson, Darlington Chidera Ibekwe, in a press statement made available to journalists, stated that the clash was caused by certain individuals who attempted to obstruct the agency from carrying out its legitimate duties.
He explained that the Toronto Junction Market had previously been relocated by the Owerri North Local Council authority due to its unsuitability and the security risks it posed within the area.
The ENTRACO spokesperson asserted that the recent attack on its staff by traders was uncalled for, adding that the agency remained committed to carrying out its operations within the ambit of the law and that no amount of intimidation would deter it.
He further accused personnel of the Imo State Police Command stationed in the area of failing to do enough to assist the agency in enforcing the relocation of the market.
