COMMOTION broke out,Thursday, as hundreds of Hausa indigenes resident in Onitsha fled to Asaba for refuge as a result of alleged attack on them by members of Movement for Actualization of Birafra (MASSOB ).
As the news filtered in, there was a lot of panic as some of their fellow Hausa men trading at the popular Abraka market on the Asaba-Benin highway ran helter- skelter.
As at the time of this report, over 200 of the run-away Hausas from Onitsha were taking refuge at the Police ‘B’ Divisional headquarters in Asaba located on the Asaba-Benin highway.
A similar incident occurred sometime in February 2006 following reprisal attacks on Hausa men at Onitsha, during the massacre of Igbos in Maiduguri and other parts of the North.
Thursday’s reprisal attack at Onitsah caused a lot of panic especially among the Hausa settlers in Asaba as some of them who had earlier fled home over the threat of reprisal from Boko Haram unslaught but returned back about a week ago became restive.
As a result of panic movement on the Bridge, there was gridlock for some hours. But as at the time of this report, situation has calmed down.
Armed soldiers and policemen were seen patrolling that stretch of the highway from Asaba to Onitsha end of the Niger bridge.
Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Charles Muka told this reporter that “it was a panic movement here (Asaba) as a result of the incident in Onitsha. There was no incident here in Asaba, please note, I repeat no incident here in Asaba. The situation is calm”, he stated.
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