Police disperses protesting shop owners in Kaduna

From: Femi  Oyelola, Kaduna

There was tension at the weekend in Kasuwan Barci, Tudun Wada Kaduna South local government Area of   Kaduna  state yesterday as   shop owners trooped to the street, asking the State governor, Nasir El-rufai to obey court order by paying them compensation over their demolished shops and markets.

Their protest followed an order by the Kaduna State High Court to the  state government that each of the shop owners in Kasuwan Barci be reinstated back into the market.

To this end, the affected shop owners called on the government to respect the constituted authority by obeying the court order.

However, as the traders were set for peaceful protest, police told them that, “there is an order from above to stop the protest”.

Consequently, some officers and  men of the Police force who were at the scene of the protest immediately  dispersed the shop owners from addressing their members and the press.

Our Correspondent who witnessed the protest, noted that the Police pulled down all the canopies arranged for the event along Kasuwan Barci axis of Dutsima road, Tudun Wada.

This led to a serious confrontation with the sister security agency; the Kaduna State Vigilante Service (KADVIS), who had earlier given security cover to the traders.

The police resorted to  teargassing the crowd in a show of superiority, but a few hours later, the shop owners regrouped and  addressed the press.

Recalled that the court held on the 28th September, 2022 given  judgement in favour of the Plaintiffs (shop owners), instructing the Kaduna state government that the shop owners be adequately compensated.

The state government had taken over the market and subsequently demolished the old structure of the market sometimes in March, 2020, while about 4,600 shop owners were affected.

The traders of the Kasuwan Barci and Raga markets all within the Kaduna metropolis being dissatisfied by the action of the state government approached the court to interpret the extent of the powers of the state government over the markets.

However, the presiding judge,  Justice  A. Edward Andow, in his judgement on the above mentioned date, pronounced that the Kaduna state government lacks the constitutional powers to unilaterally takeover the Kasuwan Barci market in the way and manner it did.

“The Kaduna State government is in breach of the constitutional provision vesting the creation and operation of  markets in the local govt by usurping and arrogating to itself the clear powers and function of the local government,” the court ruling stated.

In jubilation of the court order, the shop owners flooded the street of Kaduna state at the weekend, urging the government not to deny them of their right as pronounced by the court.

The Chairman, Shop Owners, Alhaji Abdullahi Maikano Kaya-kaya, while addressing the press, explained that after receiving the vacation notice, the shop owners sought audience with the state Governor, Nasir El-Rufai which was granted but, they could not reach any agreement

He, however, explained that they (the shop owners) pleaded with the Governor to either allow them build the shops themselves by using the authorized government building plan or give them another space to relocate, pending when the government would rebuild the shops since the Governor promised returning the shops to the real owners.

The Chairman added that the government refused the proposal of the shop owners, hence their decision to proceed to court.