Ariori denies land grabbing
Traders at the Owode-Onirin Motor Spare Parts Market in Lagos State have appealed to the Federal Government to intervene and investigate the demolition of their market, which they alleged was deliberately carried out by the Lagos State Government under what they described as a “conspiracy at the highest order.”
The traders appealed yesterday during a media briefing convened to respond to a statement credited to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police (CP), Olohunwa Ishola, during his visit to the market on January 28, where the demolition was reportedly attributed to land grabbers.
Meanwhile, Abiodun Akeem Ariori has vehemently denied being a land grabber, calling on the CP to provide evidence against him as he is a law-abiding citizen.
A member of the market committee, Abiodun Hameed, described the comment as an understatement that failed to reflect the facts and documentary evidence in the traders’ possession.
He insisted that the demolition was not the work of land grabbers, but an action executed by the Lagos State Government.
According to Hameed, the Owode-Onirin Market had existed for more than 60 years and was formally relocated to its current site in 1979 by a former Lagos State governor after the traders’ previous location was required for public use.
“We have remained law-abiding citizens, carrying out our trading activities peacefully and paying all dues and taxes to government agents,” Hameed said.
He alleged that efforts to demolish the market began about two years ago during the tenure of Dele Osinowo as Chairman of Agboyi-Ketu Local Council Development Area (LCDA), prompting the traders to process formal ownership documents.
The traders, therefore, alleged that the demolition exercise involved the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), the Lagos State Task Force, Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), as well as the Nigerian Army and the Police, with hundreds of armed security personnel deployed.
They further claimed that following the demolition, Ariori allegedly arrived at the site with armed thugs to guard the land and that an attack on the traders resulted in the death of six persons.
The traders lamented that no government official publicly condemned the alleged killings and said that several peaceful protests to the Lagos State House of Assembly had yielded no response.
They, therefore, called on the Federal Government to step in, calling for protection of their livelihoods and urged authorities to allow them.
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