Traders at Ladipo Main Market in Mushin, Lagos State, western Nigeria,
were in shock and tears as bulldozer and a team of security personnel
arrived the market on Thursday to demolish the market for
reconstruction.
As at 4.30 pm on Thursday shops had been brought down while the
exercise continues on Friday. Traders were ordered to leave the market
with their goods and when they attempted to resist, the bulldozer moved
in and started the demolition.
Some goods were destroyed as many of the traders were not in their
shops because of the Independence Day celebration and public holiday.
Traders and the Mushin Local government had been at loggerheads over
plans to re-construct the market and turn it into a modern plaza.
The traders, through their leaders alleged that they were not carried along
before the plans to re-construct the market was carried out.
They expressed concern over what happened to shop owners in other
markets where such reconstruction was carried out and they never got
back their shops after the reconstruction.
It was because of that that they resisted the plan and went to a Lagos
High Court to obtain an injunction to stop the demolition.
Following the order, the traders, developer and Mushin Local
Government went into discussion and negotiation which led to a truce.
And the traders, through their BOT chairman, Nnamdi Chukwuka,
withdrew the matter from the court.
P.M.NEWS gathered that at the meeting it was agreed that the traders
would vacate their shops on 1 October, 2015 for work to begin in some
parts of the market.
It was in line with the agreement that the developer moved in and started
the demolition.
The traders who spoke to our reporter said they had agreed to vacate the
market on Sunday, 4 October, for work to start on Monday, 5 October.
They said they were shockec when the the government officials came and
asked the traders to move out and did not allow them to remove anything
in their shops before demolishing their shops.
As at the time of filing this report the demolition was still going on as
traders were busy removing their goods from the rubble in their shops.