Business activities at Lagos Island’s Balogun Market were halted yesterday after a fight between two traders escalated, resulting in the death of one person.
The clash, which broke out around 11:00 a.m., caused panic as traders hurriedly locked their shops and fled the area.
Although rumours spread that the violence was ethnically motivated, eyewitnesses confirmed that only one fatality was recorded.
In a statement, the Lagos State Police Command refuted claims of tribal clashes, clarifying that the disturbance was caused by a free-for-all involving hoodlums and miscreants within the market.
According to police accounts, one Ebuka Adindu, from Abia State, stabbed fellow trader, Sodiq Ibrahim, from Kogi State, to death. Adindu was said to have stabbed himself in the shoulder shortly after and fell unconscious. He is currently receiving treatment under police custody in hospital.
Police spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, clarified that no innocent life was lost, and no goods or property were destroyed. It added that investigation into the matter was ongoing, and Adindu would be prosecuted once discharged from hospital.