Chaos as traders, youths clash in Lagos market

There was a commotion on Saturday at the Yisa Street section of the Agege Market  as traders in the market had a confrontation with some youths in the area.

The traders, who arrived on Saturday morning to find their stalls either burnt or missing, accused the youths of vandalising their property.

Our correspondent, who was at the scene of the conflict, noted that the accusation led to  confrontation, which resulted in exchange of blows.

Gradually, the incident grew worse and activities at the market came to a standstill for over one hour. The traders later notified the Isokoko Police Division, who subsequently arrested about 10 youths alleged to have carried out the operation.

After the police whisked away the alleged offenders, some of the traders went around looking for other youths that were not arrested. They accused them of having participated in the vandalism and threatened to resort to violence if the youths continued to harass them.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the arrested suspects were detained for about 10 hours before they were released.

It was said that a leader of the Hausa community in the area, identified simply as Seriki, intervened in the matter and pleaded with the police authorities at the station to set them free.

Our correspondent gathered that the disagreement between traders and youths in the area began in 2009 when the traders moved into the street after they were evicted from the nearby railway line by the Lagos State Government.

This development did not go down well with the youths who were not happy that their street had been turned into a market.

One of the youths, who did not give his name, owned up to our correspondent that youths in the area carried out the act. He said they started the operation at the wee hours of Saturday, adding that he did not partake in it.

He said, “It was around 12.30am that they started. I told them that it was only the government that had the power to do what they were doing. But they did not listen,” he said.

The traders expressed shock at the development, wondering how the youths got the courage to carry out the devastation in such a brazen manner.

One of them, who did not give a name, noted that they had earlier complied with a directive of the youths, telling  them to move their stands from the walkway to the wooden-covered drainage channels.

The local authorities declined to respond to the issue.  An official of the Agege Local Government Area told our correspondent that the office was closed for the weekend.

Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, could not be reached on the telephone as calls made to it indicated that it was busy, while a text message sent to her was not replied to.