A restaurant in Carlington referred to as a hotbed of criminal activity by Ottawa police and a city councillor for the area has closed, according to the councillor.

The Suya Spot — a Nigerian-style barbecue joint — made headlines in recent weeks after the death of Abdi "Ajax" Jama, who was shot behind the strip mall in which the restaurant is located.

In an email Wednesday morning, River Ward Coun. Riley Brockington said the Suya Spot "has now closed."

"The landlord of the strip mall has confirmed this to me this morning," Brockington wrote.

'Pleased with the outcome'

"As the local city councillor, I am pleased with the outcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the Ottawa police in particular who have invested a significant amount of time, effort and energy investigating numerous public complaints that have been made about activities in and around this establishment for a number of years," he added.

Trevor Nagler has lived across the street from the restaurant for the past eight months and said he's pleased with the news.

"It's just wonderful to hear that because it's just been a giant nuisance for the last eight months. It's just nice to be able to sleep in on a Saturday morning without hearing some ruckus going on," he said.

Nagler said he'd seen fights and people throwing bottles outside the restaurant early in the morning, and said he sometimes felt nervous to leave his house to walk his dog. He said he's also been woken up early in the morning by loud noises from the restaurant on a regular basis, Nagler said.

"Getting woken up at three, four in the morning weekly is just frustrating."

Richard Michaud, who has lived nearby for five years, said the restaurant has been "nothing but trouble" since it opened, and that he's also glad it closed.

Richard Michaud, left, and Trevor Nagler, right, say they're glad to see the restaurant close its doors. (Andrew Foote/CBC)

Police chief, Brockington had been hoping for closure

After Jama's death, Ottawa police Chief Charles Bordeleau and Brockington said they wanted to see the Shillington Avenue restaurant close for good, citing a number of violent incidents, bylaw infractions and the selling of alcohol without a licence.

"It's not the first shooting we've had there," said Bordeleau at the time. "We've had a number of serious incidents over the past number of years. Stabbings, shootings, assaults. It runs the gamut."

Brockington said he met with the landlord to discuss ongoing complaints about the establishment.

"I made it very clear to the landlord that I would like to see this tenant removed, that if he can terminate his lease, that is what the community is looking forward [to]," Brockington said at the time.

"We no longer have the welcome mat open and ready for this tenant. There have been too many problems in the community and it's time for them to go, plain and simple."

Suya Spot manager Reynolds Okoh told CBC News last week he believed Ottawa police were painting the restaurant with an unfair brush. (CBC)

Restaurant manager upset with police attention

But the manager of the restaurant, Reynolds Okoh, told CBC News the Suya Spot was being painted with an unfair brush by police.

Okoh alleged the restaurant had been the target of police harassment even before it opened its doors on Shillington Avenue, when it was in a smaller location on Somerset Street.

"We've been a huge target. From the very first day we opened … we never got support from the whole community. We never got support from the police," he said in an interview last week.

"I'm not a part of any gang. We have not been charged by one bylaw officer. Someone got shot in the parking lot. Someone did not get shot inside the restaurant. The parking lot, we have no control over. If people have disputes ... and it leads to that, how do we have control over it?"