From Okey Sampson, Aba
There was tension in Umuahia, Abia State, yesterday, as youths of Amuzukwu, Ugba, and Afara engaged in free-for-all over who controls Isigate Motor Park.
It was gathered that the crisis was fuelled by both communal and inter-motor park rivalry. It was learnt that some youths from Ugba alleged that strangers from Ohuhu, Ndume, Ajata, Ohafia, and Akwa Ibom State were dominating activities in the motor park located on their land and refused them access to the facility.
One of the Ugba youth leaders claimed two youths from the community were attacked and inflicted with machete cuts by persons from other communities controlling the park, a development that angered youths from Ugba community to join in the free-for-all.
Another account said trouble started when a man described as Obere, who controlled the Owerri axis of the motor park, decided to take over the management of the entire park following a purported instruction from the leadership of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the state.
Obere was, however, resisted by a group led by Chisom said to be in charge of the axis of the motor park annexed.
The Chisom group claim that former chairman of NURTW in the state, Sunny Nwankudu, now Deputy National Chairman of NURTW, instructed them to be in charge of the section of the park and not to cede it to any other group.
The clash led to the deployment of security operatives who successfully quelled the crisis and restored normalcy in the area.