5,000 ejected Anambra traders, mostly women who deal in perishables, along St. Jude/Silas Works axis Fegge, Onitsha, Anambra State on Tuesday protested their ejection and sustainance of injury by about 20 women which made them to relocate to Oko, Delta State.
The women who protested, alleged incessant ejection from their market places by the agent of the State Government said that they would not continue to be pushed around in Anambra State as bread winners of various families.
Reacting, the patron of the traders, Chief Linus Odiogbu expressed surprise that security operatives could eject them from their present market at Fegge after being ejected earlier at Coca-Cola axis along the Onitsha/Asaba expressway.
He said, “in the early morning of today (yesterday) about 3.00am the police, Ocha Brigade and other security outfits stormed our market and when we came, they started shooting guns at us and we started running away and on the process about 20 of the women sustained various injuries”
“So we are protesting the attack on us and as it is we have relocated now to Oko, Delta State since Anambra state does not want us. Delta State people want us and we say bye to Anambra State”, he stated.
Also reacting, Mrs. Ifeoma Ochonma, woman leader in the market said, “I was injured by the security operatives on my legs and hands who were shooting sporadically. The agents of the State Government have continued to eject us from CocaCola axis to St. Jude/Silas, telling us that this time we have to relocate to Power Mike axis along Atani road that is not safe to traders.
Since they do not want us in Anambra State we have relocated to Delta State to sell our perishables that include; onions, plantain, cucumber, water melon, oranges, corns amongst others”.
In his reaction, the secretary of the food stuff traders, Mr. Emmanuel Omenka said, “there is no going back to Anambra State because the Ocha Brigade and other security operatives will kill us having injured many of us.We pay our taxes and levies to them but now it has ended”, he said.
Also Mrs. Ngozi Ojukwu, a widow said that, “most of us have no husbands and we feed our children from here”.
When contacted earlier, the director of Ocha Brigade, Mr. Kenneth Okonkwo said the traders have earlier been directed to relocate to Power Mike Market approved by the State Government.