Article Dealers Association in Onitsha Anambra on Thursday protested the demolition of their markets while they were away for Christmas and New Year celebrations
They took the protest to the Government House, Awka over forceful relocation from their market.
Task Force and joint security team of Army, Police, Civil Defense, and Vigilance group had stormed the plaza around 4 am with bulldozers, demolishing some structures in the market.
The traders were ordered to move to the Provisions and Cosmetics market at Ogbunike in Oyi local government area of the state.
But the aggrieved traders, on Thursday, carrying placards with various inscriptions, said the protest was to draw the attention of the governor to their plights, including harassment, intimidation, maiming, and looting of their ware.
Some of the placards read: “Governor save our souls, why is this multiple violations of court order, our case is in court, let provision and cosmetics dealers go to their market, 99 percent of us are petty traders, we don’t have money to rent shops elsewhere, this is January 2020, we are dying of hunger. Stop this intimidation and molestation.”
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Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Chief Herbert Iwuoha, described as unfair government’s directives for them to relocate from a place they had transacted business for decades.
He said: “I’ve been in the Plaza right from my apprenticeship days in 1985. Those cosmetics dealers who were with us left on their volition and we can’t join them because we’re not part of them.”
He alleged that they had been hindered access to their shops while touts and hoodlums broke into their shops and looted their wares and injured some traders.
He added: “They went and blocked our shops with thugs, security agents, and other government agents. They are there demolishing some structures, molesting and beating some of us who entered into the plaza.
“Some traders are currently with wounds sustained from the thugs. They said we must move to the new market where we didn’t build and the union we are not part of.
“We want the governor to stop them and allow us to open our shops because this is January and we have our children school fees to pay as well as our house rent and other bills.
“We are not against the demolition of illegal structures that blocked the roads. We do our business in a plaza and not on the street, so why stopping us from doing our business?”
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The protesters were however attended to by a security agent at the entrance to the government house who took the leaders of the Union to the office of the Secretary to the State government.
The leaders later told our correspondent that they met with the SSG, Prof Solo Chukwudobelu who, after hearing their complaints, referred them to the Commissioner for Commerce and Trade for the amicable resolution of the matter.
