By Brown Chimezie
There was pandemonium at the popular Balogun market, Tradefair complex,Lagos, when officials of the Ministry of Physical and Urban Planning led a cabinet member of the government stormed the market with thugs and mobile policemen.
Some of the buildings marked for demolition.
The Police were said to have shot into the air as they were firing teargas cannister at traders and customers.According to Mr. Eric Ilechukwu, Chairman, Trade fair Stakeholders Forum, an umbrella body for all the associations in the complex,”policemen and thugs led by commissioner for Pusical planning and Urban development, Omotayo Bamgbose-Martins stormed the Market and immediately started demolishing warehouses in a section of Tradefair market.
“When we noticed this development, we immediately reached out to the Executive Director Trade Fair, a legal practitioner,Veronica Ndanusa, who in seconds arrived at the demolition site. All her efforts to intervene and explain certain things to the commissioner, were rebuffed as she and the traders were teagarsed by plicemen attached to the commissioner. “
Mr. Eric Ilechukwu
While expressing disappointment at the commissioner inability to recognise his jurisdiction, she said: “ To our dismay, they did not investigate nor come to the market management before they encroached on the project. In fact, they don’t even have the right to come here and check in the first place. They just went their in commandos style with thugs and policemen, and these people went ahead to throw teargas at us. Look at my eyes. My clothes smell teargas. you can imagine not only do they throw teargas, the policemen also shot at us ,and in the process, burst my vehicles tyres. I son’t understand this type of attitude. It is babaric and unacceptable.
“If truly these people want to see the renewed hope agenda succeed, I don’t think this is what they should be doing. These are the enemies of government,the state, and th federal government because I do not understand why a commissioner will not know the boundary of his job and that of another person .
“ If he knew his job,he would have come to the management. The management would explain to him that this place does not fall under his jurisdiction. There have been several commissioners before him. This place has existed for over 35 years, and this has never happened. Lagos International Trade Fair has been here for over how many years now?
“More than three decades. So why would they just woke up now, and started destroying peoples buildings without notice.This baberic behaviour should stop in Nigeria. We need to stop them. We need to stop people abusing their offices for the sake of getting sundry things. I can tell you probably they thought that the traders would bribe them with money,”she said.
When contacted, officials of the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development , said the plazas were built on drainage and without approvals from the supervisory bodies, an allegation the traders have denied.