Police Invade Mararaba Market and Destroy Stalls and Goods

[Richard Akindele]

Some Mobile policemen swooped on market traders in Mararaba destroying their stalls and scattered their produce yesterday. The police destroyed the stalls in an attempt to move traders away from the site of the old market, the Traders Association said. Goods such as, rice, beans, yams and fruits were scattered all over the ground by the police who stormed the area early in the morning.

A few traders were lucky to get away with their produce. One of the traders, Mrs Jummai Omo said the garri she sells were all scattered on the ground by the policemen who refused to allow her pack them. "What I lost here is over N5000," she lamented. The dislodged traders after the operation displayed their wares on Aso road and caused traffic congestion for motorists coming from Aso as they had to turn back and follow the road leading to Aku village. Another trader, Christopher Ujoh said the Nasarawa state government is only tryi-ng to force the traders to leave the old market to the new on e. "I learnt that the state government bought the land where the old market is situated and want to use it for something else hence the dislodgement. The government should realise that the new market cannot accommodate half of the traders from the old mar-ket and that is why the whole of Aso road is crowded with traders who cannot find spa-ce to display their wares," he stated. Alhaji Haruna, a fruit seller lamented the high rents charged in the new market. "The new market was built by private individuals, who have contracted estate agents to market their stores for them. Can you imagine that these agents rent big stalls for N120, 000 per annum with ten percent agency fee while the small ones go for N60, 000 per annum with five percent agency fee," he disclosed.

When City News reporter called at the office of Mararaba Market Association, the financial secretary, Nnaji Chukwuemeka attributed the traders woes to the disobedience of government's order to leave the old market to the new site. "Government gave them a directive to relocate and they don't want to obey it. That is why they were raided, "he said. The financial secretary disclosed that the stores built through private initiative are rented out at the amount arrived at after serious discussions between the owner and the intending tenants. "Sometimes the rent can be N56, 000 but all this depends on the arrangement between the owner and the person that want to rent the store," he said. City News learnt that the real owners of the shops in the new market are supposed to pay N12, 000 yearly to the Nasarawa state government and that the latest action of the government in dislodging the traders goes against the earlier decision of Ambassador Polycarp, chairman of Karu Area Development and Planning Authority (KAP-DA). The chairman had declared during an inspection tour to the new market in April that the traders in the old market would be forced out of the old market but persuaded to see what th e new market can offer, for them to make a choice. A KAPDA official told City News that the state government is bent on removing the traders from the road side to a descent and more organised place to market their goods.

Daily Trust.