Market women and other traders at the Nkwo Umunze Market in Anambra State have protested the arrest of their leaders by a property developer in the area, Chief Ben Oranusi.
They also decried the demolition of some portions of the market by the developer.
The protesters accused Oranusi of ejecting them from the “traditional Nkwo Umunze” market and coercing them to move into an ultramodern market he was building in the area without recourse to their peculiarities.
They said the developer should allow the two markets to coexist instead of “robbing Peter to pay Paul” in the circumstance.
Carrying placards with different inscriptions, the traders said the local women and other petty traders in the area did not need an ultramodern market to sell perishable produces.
Some of their placards read, “Umunze deserves more market but not to demolish the one already in existence”, “Our dear listening governor Willie Obiano should please come to our aid,” “Ben Oranusi is using DPO Umunze to intimidate us,” and “Nkwo Umunze is as old as Umunze community.”
A woman leader at the market, Alice Okeke said the site of the ultra-modern market had not been developed for traders to move in, wondering why the developer was forcing them to relocate to the new place.
