Metro

Mobile Court On Standby, As Street Traders Clash With Kwara Govt

Published

2 months ago

July 4, 2025

What looks like a pitched battle is raging between traders on the streets around the Oja-Oba Market in Ilorin, Kwara State, and the state government. Predictably, there have been chaotic scenes at every stage of the intermittent clashes for control of spaces around the market.

For now nobody has an idea of who will emerge victorious at the end of the day.

But Before late last year, Oja-Oba Market, which had been existing for over 100 years, was always overcrowded with traders overflowing to the nearby streets, thus creating serious traffic problem for motorists and commuters in the area. But following public outcry, especially by motorists and other road users, the state government was compelled to move in and arrest the rot, which has been creeping in over the years without any control from any quarters.

Although the state government had initially employed a subtle method to address the challenge created by the unwholesome practice of trading on the streets adjourning the market, it later gradually wielded the hammer leading to the traders losing their coveted spaces without notice. The state government started pushing the traders inside the market by first expanding the post office through the Emir’s Road towards the Oja-Oba Market by grading and overlaying it with asphalt and new walkways for pedestrians.

…over one million traders

The market situated within the ambience of the Emir’s palace from which other markets across the state sprung up, hosts more than one million traders, according to the Iyaloja of Oja-Oba Market, Alhaja Mariam Moshood Elefun. It has enough space for people to do their business inside. However, many traders prefer to display their wares on the road side where they find easy buyers, who claim that the prices of goods are cheaper on the streets than inside the market. But the state would not want to hear any of such story. It has carefully reconstructed the walkways and provided adequate barricade against street trading to confine all buyers and sellers inside the imposing market so as to create a sense of orderliness around the market.

This is the product of the ongoing urban renewal agenda of the administration of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in Kwara State.

The state government does not want any trading on the street around the market and has set up enforcement teams to monitor compliance by traders from dawn to dusk. To this effect, the state deploys a team of soldiers, policemen, and officials from the Kwara Transport Management Agency to keep watch over the market and to deal with anyone found trading on the street outside the market. In a bid to ensure compliance, wares of traders caught outside the market are promptly confiscated by officials of KWATMA to serve as a deterrent to would-be offenders.

But last Monday, the government added a more legalistic measure to the move to end street trading around Oja-Oba Market by arraigning offenders and sending them to prison for one month or a fine of N10,000. Notwithstanding the tough disposition of the government, Arewa Voice found out that some recalcitrant traders have refused to budge and are still displaying and selling their goods by the roadside. The leader of Oja-Oba Market Traders Association, Alhaja Mariam Moshood Elefun, told AV correspondent that government had directed those trading on the streets to occupy shops inside the market, but that many of the traders ignored the directive.

“We understand that government has the final authority over everything. Now that the government is exercising its powers, it is clear to everyone that nobody can stop the government,” she said.

“Our people who are trading on the streets can still go to Oja Ago, Ita Amo and even Mandate Market to continue their trading, but they would tell you that you are asking them to leave because you already have a shop. But there is nothing we can do with the situation we have found ourselves,” she said.

Another trader Asumi Moshood Olateju in an interview with AV expressed satisfaction with the upgrade of infrastructure in Oja-Oba Market and the steps taken by the administration to sanitise the area for easy traffic. The General Manager, Kwara State Geographic Information Service, Alhaji AbdulKareem Babatunde Sulyman, made it clear that Oja-Oba Market was not meant to promote street trading and asked the traders to return to their shops within the market to do their legitimate business without fear or favour.

“Nobody is asking them to leave the market; we are only asking them to stay in the shops allocated to them to trade and stop trading on the streets,” he said.
(Vanguard)

Metro

Job Seekers Protest Alleged Fake Employment Letters For Ondo Teaching Jobs

Published

6 hours ago

September 12, 2025

Editor

Hundreds of aggrieved job seekers on Friday staged a protest at the Governor’s Office, Alagbaka, Akure, the Ondo State capital, over alleged fake letters of employment issued to them for teaching positions in the state.

The protesters, who had applied for teaching jobs under the state’s civil service, barricaded the entrance to the Governor’s Office while demanding immediate inclusion in the ongoing biometric capturing exercise for newly recruited teachers by the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

According to the protesters’ claims, despite possessing ‘official-looking’ appointment letters purportedly issued by SUBEB and the State Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), their names were not included in the official list of successful candidates scheduled for the exercise.

While armed with placards of various inscriptions, the job seekers chanted solidarity songs and called on the state government to intervene.

A source said, “The affected members of the newly recruited teachers in Ondo State are protesting their disengagement from the capturing exercise due to backdoor appointment letters issued to them by unscrupulous directors of the personnel at SUBEB and TESCOM offices.”

In a reaction, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Ebenezer Adeniyan, confirmed that the protesters had been scammed with fake appointment letters by some unknown people.

“People should please note that those who protested are not teachers but applicants who were duped by some individuals during the recruitment process.

“They all paid money to scammers who issued them fake letters of appointment.

“Those legitimately recruited by the government have been absorbed and have started working,” the CPS stated.

The government, however, maintained that the genuine recruitment exercise is being handled transparently and urged applicants to be wary of fraudsters exploiting the process.

Metro

Police Arrest Suspected Robber, Three Others With Firearm In Delta

Published

7 hours ago

September 12, 2025

Editor

Operatives of Safe Delta have arrested a 23-year-old suspected armed robber, Raphael Chukwuemeka, with a cut-to-size double-barrel pistol and seven live cartridges.

The suspect was apprehended along DBS Road, Asaba, Delta State, on September 9, 2025. He is now in police custody.

Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, confirmed the arrest in a statement.

The police spokesman said, “On September 9, 2025, operatives of Safe Delta, while on surveillance patrol along DBS Road, sighted a group of boys fighting and engaging in affray, one with a cutlass.”

According to SP Edafe, “The operatives swiftly went to the scene and, in the process, arrested Raphael Chukwuemeka, 23, with one cut-to-size double-barrel pistol with seven live cartridges recovered from him.”

He added, “The suspect was taken into custody, and the investigation is ongoing.”

In a separate incident, operatives of Safe Delta, while on stop-and-search duty at Head Bridge, Asaba, arrested three suspected armed robbers, Solomon Offor, 22, Ifesinachi Nwankeze, 19, and Ambrose Ugwuba, 23.

They were apprehended on September 10, 2025, at about 10:30 am.

Edafe confirmed, “Upon search of the suspects and the motorcycle, a locally made single-barrel cut-to-size gun, cartridges and a dagger concealed in a bag were recovered.”

Metro

Four Feared Killed As Gunmen Attack Burial Ceremony In Anambra

Published

10 hours ago

September 12, 2025

Editor

Gunmen suspected to be cultists on Thursday night attacked a burial ceremony in Ezi Village, Ogidi, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, killing four persons and injuring about 15 others.

Eyewitnesses said the assailants, believed to be from a rival cult group, stormed the venue on motorcycles while family members were performing the burial rites.

They opened fire on mourners, sending others scampering for safety before fleeing the scene.

“The assailants suddenly invaded the scene of the burial on Thursday and opened fire at the gathering, targeting some people who were present.

“The family members of the deceased and other mourners were performing the burial rites in the compound, when they arrived at the scene and shot at the mourners, while others scampered to safety.

“They came in some motorcycles and after carrying out their deadly mission, immediately left the scene,” an indigene who was near the scene, who did not want his name in print, The told PUNCH.

Confirming the incident in a statement on Friday, the spokesman for the state police command, Tochukwu Ikenga, said operatives from Ogidi Division, led by the Divisional Police Officer, quickly responded, restored normalcy, and evacuated the victims to hospitals.

Ikenga said the Command has commenced a discreet investigation to identify, trace, and arrest the perpetrators, adding that preliminary findings suggested that the incident is connected to a clash between rival cult groups.

He said, “Following a distress call in the late hours of September 11, 2025, that armed men suspected to be cultists invaded a burial ceremony at Ezi Village, Ogidi, Idemili North LGA, and opened fire on the attendees, resulting in the death of four persons while 15 others sustained serious injuries.

“Police operatives from Ogidi Division, led by the Divisional Police Officer, swiftly mobilised to the scene, restored normalcy, and immediately evacuated the victims to hospitals for medical attention. In the course of the operation, 16 expended cartridges were recovered as exhibits.

“The Command has since launched a discreet investigation to identify, trace, and arrest the perpetrators, as preliminary findings suggest that the incident is connected to a clash between rival cult groups.”

According to him, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Ikioye Orutugu, has strongly condemned the incident and assured residents of the command’s resolve to rid the state of cult-related violence and other criminal activities.

“The Command urges members of the public to remain calm, security-conscious, and to continue to provide useful information by reporting suspicious movements or persons to the nearest Police formation.

“Further developments will be communicated in due course,” the statement added.

This latest incident comes months after The PUNCH reported that seven people, including five police officers, were killed in January when gunmen invaded a compound in Ihiala LGA during preparations for another burial.

It was gathered that the family members in the compound were making preparations for a burial ceremony scheduled to be held on January 2, 2025, when suddenly, the hoodlums invaded the place and started shooting sporadically, leading to the death of the victims.

The assailants were said to have opened fire at the gathering, targeting security operatives stationed near the local government headquarters as they fled the scene.

The Anambra State governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, who visited the scene to condole with the families of the victims, announced a N10m bounty each for information leading to the capture of each of the gunmen responsible for the killing.