Two people were feared dead and many others injured on Sunday as Yoruba and Hausa traders clashed at the Ilepo Market in Oke Odo area of Lagos State.
It was gathered that the clash started when an Hausa porter, popularly known Bolar boy, mistakenly hit a Yoruba man with the tray he was using to convey goods for traders.
The disagreement was said to have lead into a fight.
It was reported that hoodlums from both ethnic groups took over the fight, which turned into a big clash between the two ethnic groups.
Policemen from the Oke Odo Division deployed in the area shot in the air to seperate the hoodlums and bullets mistakenly hit one of the Bolar boys.
Angered by this, the Hausa group mobilised and stormed Ilepo Market with bottles, stones and arrows, stealing goods and injuring people.
The Yoruba group were said to have assembled at a side of the road, as the two ethnic groups blocked the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway and attacked one another.
Police force consisting of the Rapid Response Squad, Mobile Police, and Lagos State Task Force on Environment and Sanitation Unit later calmed the situation and restored traffic flow, which had been stalled by the clash.
Many traders lamented their losses estimated at millions of naira as Broken bottles, tomatoes and oil littered the expressway.
It was gathered that the market was divided into two: the main market occupied by the Yoruba, and the shanties occupied by the Hausa porters.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bala Elkana, said that nobody died in the clash, adding that four persons were injured.
