Traders at building materials and timber market in Orlu, Imo State were shocked on Tuesday when soldiers prevented them for accessing their shops.
The soldiers mounted road blocks along the Orlu-Owerri roads near the market, cutting off the traders from their shops.
The angry traders were seen protesting the action noisily distances away from the gun-wielding soldiers.
The Nation gathered the soldiers asked the traders why the two markets were closed down on Monday July 26.
It was learnt the traders shut down the markets on Monday in solidarity with the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kànu, who was slated to appear in Court in Abuja on same day.
However, security sources confided some hoodlums engaged the police in a gun duel on Monday with six of them gunned down in Orlu.
The source alleged it was the market that provided cover for the hoodlums during the attack.
“We are working out a theory that the traders were aware that the bandits would operate on that Monday and may possibly be the reason they shut down the markets in the area,”, he argued.
Acting Assistant Director, Army Public Relations Officer (APRO), Captain Babatude Zubairu, didn’t pick calls or respond to SMS on the matter.
