Keep up with the latest news and be part of our weekly giveaways and airtime sharing; follow our WhatsApp channel for more updates. Click to Follow us

On Friday, April 4, 2025, tensions erupted at the Eze Gbakagba Market in Port Harcourt’s Trans-Amadi neighborhood when a female food vendor barely avoided being lynched by angry youths on a blasphemy charge.

According to an eyewitness who spoke to our correspondent under anonymity, the incident started when the vendor and a male merchant who had bought food from her got into a fight. According to reports, the argument turned physical, and the situation was made worse by the introduction of religious sentiments.

“In the heat of the argument, some members of the Muslim community accused the woman of blasphemy,” the eyewitness said. “This led to the destruction and burning of her food items, table, and umbrella. When she realized her life was in danger, she fled, and some individuals chased after her.”

The witness further revealed that additional violence was stopped by the police’s prompt intervention. “Officers arrived at the scene in numbers and dispersed the mob using tear gas. The area has since returned to a state of calm.”

In the meantime, some market vendors have urged security forces to be conspicuously present at the site for the next few days.

In order to prevent further escalation, they also encouraged the police to safeguard the food vendor, proposing that she be placed in protective custody and prohibited from the market going forward.

In response to the event, Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, Executive Director of the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria), called on the public to respect the views of others and denounced the growing instances of religious intolerance.

“People must stop blaspheming other religions. If you are not a part of a particular faith, do not involve yourself in their practices.

“We should never allow this kind of thing happen again be you a Christian, Muslim, African traditionalist believer, do not put your mouth into other people’s religion.

“Mind your personal business when it comes to religious matters so we do not see a repeat of incidents like this. The case of Deborah in Sokoto is still fresh in our memories.”

In order to stop the issue from happening again, Fyneface also urged the police to maintain constant security in the marketplace.

Please don’t forget to “Allow the notification” so you will be the first to get our gist when we publish it. 
Drop your comment in the section below, and don’t forget to share the post.