There was pandemonium in Unuahia, the Abia state capital, on Monday June 7, as an office of the state Vigilante Service (AVGS) aka “Bakassi Boys” was set ablaze by angry traders.
WITHIN NIGERIA gathered that the office which is situated within the popular Umuahia Timber Market, was burnt down after the Bakassi boys were accused of killing a trader during a squabble with the state Board of Internal Revenue Service (ABIRS) which sealed shops over nonpayment of N18,000 fee on same day.
Mr. Idika, Commandant of the AVGS, who bemoaned the burning of their office and an operational van of the security outfit, denied that a trader was killed by his men. Idika said;
“We have gone round the entire hospitals in Umuahia including Federal Medical Center (FMC), but there was no case of gunshot injury patient or or body from Timber Shed in the facilities that we visited.”
Police spokesman, Geoffrey Ogbonna confirmed that some traders were injured, but said there was no death.