Mrs. Ukamaka Agbo, a widow, has been brutally attacked at Gariki Market, Afor-Awkunanaw, in Enugu State by cow butchers. This attack, has sparked outrage and raised concerns about ethnic discrimination and business intimidation, according to eyewitnesses and police sources.
The attack occurred around 6pm on Tuesday, December 30, 2025, when Mrs. Ukamaka Agbo, an indigene of Ebonyi State, was reportedly set upon by a group of traders identified locally as cow butchers while conducting her lawful business outside the main market premises.
Footage obtained showed Mrs. Agbo lying on the ground with visible machete wounds and severe injuries to her hand, including what witnesses said was an attempt to sever one of her fingers during the attack.
Therefore, locals and sources familiar with the incident alleged that the attackers were motivated by ethnic hostility and exclusionary sentiments, demanding that Mrs. Agbo leave the state and cease her trade.
“They told her clearly to go back to her state and do her business there,” one source told reporters.
“They vowed to use everything at their disposal, including state authority and security agencies, to frustrate her and others from Ebonyi involved in the same trade.”
According to this account, the group of cow butchers had repeatedly warned Mrs. Agbo and other traders from Ebonyi State that they were not welcome to sell donkey meat in the area, a form of economic exclusion that residents said reflects broader tensions within the marketplace.
Following the assault, Mrs. Agbo was reportedly arrested alongside her assailants by officers from the MTD Police Division, a development that has drawn condemnation from human rights advocates and community members alike.
A senior police officer, speaking anonymously, described the attack as both “unjust and unlawful.”
“The victim, Mrs. Ukamaka Agbo, a widow, was attacked by cow butchers at Gariki Market, Afor-Awkunanaw, Enugu, purely because of oppression and intimidation centred on the fact that she is from Ebonyi State,” the officer stated.
“There is no crime she committed other than her state of origin.”
The officer further noted that Mrs. Agbo and her colleagues were operating legally and in compliance with state regulations:
“The authority of the victims and her group to sell donkey meat is derived pursuant to Sections 74, 75, and 76 of the Enugu State Public Health Law,” he said, adding that their businesses were also properly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
Human rights campaigners and concerned residents are calling for a thorough and impartial investigation into the assault, sought accountability for those responsible, and demanded protection for Mrs. Agbo and other small-scale traders.
“This is a poor widow trying to earn a living,” one local resident said.
“If this can happen to her today, it can happen to anyone tomorrow. The authorities must act.”
Efforts by SaharaReporters to obtain a response from the Enugu State Police Command were unsuccessful, as attempts to contact the Command’s spokesperson, SP Daniel Ndukwe, went unanswered.
