Onitsha traders shut market over alleged assaultt

A section of the Ochanja Central Market in Onitsha Anambra state was on Monday closed by members of the Emeodi Shoe Dealers Association (ESDA) and Ochanja Central Market Amalgamated Traders Association, (OCMATA) in protest against alleged assault of their Chairman, Leonard Umeh and a popular member, Sunday Anakor.

The market closure rendered customers in the market for their business transactions stranded.

The stranded customers had thought the market closure was in connection with the coronavirus.pandemic.



The aggrieved traders of ESDA, who later trooped to the Onitsha Police Area Command to lodge complaint over the alleged assault, accused the leadership of OCMATA of masterminding the attack on their leaders who rejected membership of the newly constituted Caretaker Committee.

Addressing newsmen, Umeh said: “I went to Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church Fegge Onitsha to park my car because that is where we have space to park cars due to lack of space in Ochanja Market.”

“As I was walking into the market, towards Okagbue Agba Street close to Ochanja Market, about 25 boys in a bus drove to my front, jumped down and started asking who was last two weeks appointed as Chairman of Caretaker Committee of OCMATA.”

Umeh who denied having any problem with the OCMATA leadership, said, “The only thing I can remember is the protest letter I wrote to the Commissioner for Commerce, Trade and Wealth Creation, Mr Uchenna Okafor, which I copied to Mr Ojukwu, over breaking of shops of my members and stealing of their goods and money.

“I was surprised that the letter did not go down well with Mr Ojukwu, who was then the President of OCMATA, before his new appointment.”



On his part, Mr. Anakor who rejected membership of OCMATA Caretaker Committee, said they had planned a protest to Awka which they later cancelled, saying, “it was there that the boys met me and started beating me”.

Contacted, Mr. Ojukwu declined comment, saying he was in a meeting and was not ready to speak to the press.

Commissioner for Commerce, Trade and Wealth Creation, said the government on Monday morning placed a ban public gathering to avoid the spread of coronavirus.

“We understand some people wanted to come to Awka from Ochanja Market to protest over market issue, the leadership of the market may have seen them and decided to disperse them.

“You cannot, and we will not tolerate a situation where because you want to be President or Chairman of market and you will be moving people round and trying to endanger others’ lives with spread of coronavirus in the name of protesting about market leadership.

“Thirdly, some people from other political parties wants to case trouble in the market through some people who are not traders, but want to become President of the market, even when they were included in the Caretaker Committee of the market, which we are using to return the leadership of the market to real traders.”