The House of Representatives has called on the Federal Government and the Nigerian Army to promptly reopen Banex Plaza in Abuja.
The plaza had been under military control since civilians attacked military personnel on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
Comparing the military’s response to the reprisal attacks in Okuama community, the House criticized the excessive approach in dealing with civilian matters.
The motion was presented by Honourable Sesi Winghan, who voiced concerns about the inappropriate deployment of military personnel to handle such situations.
Explaining reason behind the closure of the plaza in a statement on Tuesday, the spokesperson for the army, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, said the plaza was shut after the incident on Saturday, May 18, 2024 to probe the “cruel treatment” meted out to “unarmed soldiers” by some persons at the trade plaza.
He said the attack on the soldiers was “entirely unwarranted and unjustifiable”.
The Army said a “meeting was convened with the management of Banex Plaza to identify and apprehend the perpetrators of the heinous act by temporarily shutting down activities in the plaza to ensure that the hoodlums who have been using the Banex neighborhood as a sanctuary to pose a security threat to the Federal Capital Territory were apprehended”.
“This, is in furtherance of the need for extensive investigation to be conducted at the scene to determine both the immediate and underlying causes of this mayhem.
“This investigation ultimately aims at ensuring the security of the Federal Capital Territory and to prevent such unwarranted attacks on own personnel and other security operatives, as has been observed in other areas, such as the unfortunate attack in Okuama,” the statement added.
The Army has denounced the attack on its personnel and urged the public to exercise caution and restraint when interacting with military personnel and other security operatives. They emphasized the importance of utilizing official channels to report grievances or misconduct by military personnel.