Abuja market management warns traders over protests

Abuja Markets Management Ltd (AMML) has warned traders and market users in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) against participating in the planned nationwide protest.

By Philip Yatai

Abuja Markets Management Ltd (AMML) has warned traders and market users in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) against participating in the planned nationwide protest.

The market’s director, Mr Abbas Yakubu, gave this advice while speaking to traders in Abuja on Sunday.

According to Nigerian news agency NAN, some Nigerians have planned a nationwide protest on August 1 to demand government solutions to the rising cost of living in the country.

Yakubu called on traders to support the security agencies and ensure that the markets are not infiltrated by people with suspicious intentions under the guise of peaceful protest.

According to him, previous experiences show that criminals will do everything they can to abuse any gathering in the market, whether it is peaceful or not.

He reminded traders that some shops in Wuse Market, including a police station, were set ablaze by hoodlums and property worth millions of naira destroyed.

“The market has not yet fully recovered from that incident and AMML cannot afford to risk a repeat of something like this in any of its markets.

“We have a history of protests and other incidents that have led to the reckless destruction of property in our markets.

“No responsible management or trader will sit back and wait for the incident to happen again.

“We therefore urge you all to mobilise your fellow traders, the wheelbarrow pushers, your apprentices and all those doing legitimate business in the market and resist any attempt by hoodlums to infiltrate the market under the guise of protest,” he said.

According to Yakubu, markets as business environments are meant for buying and selling and therefore need to be carefully monitored by their owners and operators.

He argued that the protest might not happen because many groups had withdrawn from the protest, but there was still a need for proactive action.

“I have also learnt that there are designated places and locations as well as other rules that guide the protest. We are just proactively here to make it clear that if you have to protest, you should stay away from the market,” he warned. (NAN)