Muhammad Musa Bello FCT Minister announce re-opening of Dei-Dei Market
After a week of closure, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) Muhammad Musa Bello said that the Dei-Dei building materials market would reopen today Friday, May 27.
Anthony Ogunleye, the Minister’s Chief Press Secretary, revealed this in a statement on Thursday.
“The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, has announced the reopening of the Dei-Dei building materials market and the neighboring markets, which were closed following the crisis that occurred at the market on May 18, 2022,” according to the announcement.
Bello, who described the incident as an accident hijacked by hoodlums rather than an ethnic conflict, said the market would be reopened under proper supervision.
He also stated that commercial motorcyclists, often known as ‘okada,’ would be regulated in the future.
According to the statement, during a meeting with the minister, community leaders, religious leaders, and other stakeholders decided to hunt down criminals causing damage in the Dei-Dei market and its environs.
“At the end of our conference, all of the groups agreed that what had occurred was not a tribal or religious issue.” What transpired was an unavoidable accident that was exacerbated by hoodlums in the neighborhood who wreaked chaos.
“The general consensus now is that every community will make sure that miscreants and hoodlums are flushed out,” Bello said, according to the statement.
In a similar vein, the minister stated that various structures in the market were distorting the Abuja Master Plan, and that a technical committee would be formed within four weeks to present a thorough report on methods to restructure the region.
The committee, which has four weeks to submit its report, is chaired by TPL Ibrahim Ismaila, the Senior Special Assistant to the Minister on Land, Urban and Regional Planning, and includes members from the Dei-Dei community, security agencies, and FCT Administration officials, according to the statement.
Following a violent conflict in the region, the Dei-Dei building materials market was shut down. At least four people were killed.
The situation began when a motorbike rider carrying a female passenger died after falling on the road while attempting to overtake a trailer.
Angry witnesses set fire to the motorcycle, setting off a rampage of okada riders that resulted in the destruction of shops and products worth billions of naira.
Several people were killed and several more were seriously injured in the brutal conflict.
