Traders in the popular UTC market at Area 10 in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) yesterday staged a protest barricading the main entrance gates of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) and FCTA secretariats calling on the AMAC and FCT administrations not to go ahead with the planned demolition of the market.
The aggrieved traders decided to stage the protest when they saw that the officials of the FCDA Department of Development Control stormed the market in the early hours of Tuesday and demolished the perimeter fence of the market, without the knowledge of the traders.
The protesters in their hundreds carried placards with inscriptions, “Leave UTC market alone,” “Stay away from UTC market, we do not want to remodel,” “UTC is the best market in FCT,” “Minister come to our rescue,” and “People depend on us to survive,” among others.
The chairman of the association of shop owners, Mr Godfrey Ojarikre, while speaking during the protest explained that they woke up on Tuesday morning to discover that the fence of the complex has been demolished, saying the action is contrary to the court order that is still subsisting which states that all parties to the court case should maintain status quo.
“In 2021 we had the cause to go to court to douse the tension that was rising between us and the market management. It took us by surprise that on the 25th of December 2020, we came to the complex and discovered three billboards erected by Urban Shelter, that they want to remodel the market.
“And from that 2020, they have not been relating with us, but rather they have been fraudulently relating with our tenants who are traders in the market. And they even gave the FCT Minister the wrong impression that they have been discussing with us. The biggest culprit is Urban Shelter.
“Then the Department of Development Control came and wrote a notice on March 30, 2023, and our lawyer wrote to them to remind them that the case is in court.
And we thought the matter had ended, only for us to come this morning and see that the fence to the complex has been removed and we have handed him over to the police,” he said.
The aggrieved traders also accused the FCDA of using security operatives to harass them, saying that they are bonafide owners of the shops.
“What they gave us was shop space in 1997 and they gave us an initial letter. Then seven years later they gave us a reconfirmation letter, with the instruction to erect permanent structures in 1997, and the majority of us that were retired civil servants use our pension and gratuity to erect the permanent structures.
“Even if they are remodeling at least you will meet with the real shop owners of the shop in the complex. We caught one of the Babanbola boys in a police uniform that was trying to remove the fence and he confessed that they were hired to come and buy metal materials at the complex. That there are iron rods in the complex.
“That is to tell you the extent to which the building engineer with Urban Shelter is willing to cause division among us, by going through our ranks to see those who will collect brides and support their desire,” he said.
