Mother Of Three Slumps As POWA Demolishes Shops In Lagos (Photo)

 

A mother who couldn't bear the pain of having her shop demolished in Lagos state has slumped.

 

According to Punch, the mother of three, identified simply as Mama Esther was left hospitalised after she slumped when her shop was demolished by officials of the Police Officers’ Wives Association.

 

It was gathered that POWA had given the tenants in its market at Pedro in the Somolu area of Lagos State a two-week notice to vacate the premises for demolition.

 

The demolition was to pave way for the construction of an ultra-modern market at the site by a developer.

 

However, at the expiration of the two-week notice on Thursday, April 8, 2021, shops in the market were demolished.

 

PUNCH Metro gathered that Mama Esther slumped when she got to the market and saw the wreckage of her shop and goods.

 

One of the traders in the market, Dupe Audu, said all entreaties to extend the vacation notice fell on deaf ears of POWA officials as they threatened to ensure the transfer of their husbands to the North-East if they refused to vacate the market.

 

She said, “We were surprised to see the POWA officials in the market when they came to give us the notice. They went around the market and when they came back to address us, they said we should all vacate our shops, because they wanted to rebuild the market.

 

Another trader, Zainab Busari, who alleged that they were not given written notice, said the POWA officials were accompanied by the Divisional Police Officer of the Pedro Police Station.

 

She stated, “When the POWA officials stormed the market on the day, it was like a war; everybody was running helter-skelter. A few minutes later, we saw some people removing the roofs and pulling down the shops; some traders’ goods were thrown on the road.

Another trader, Taiwo Olushoga, who lamented the demolition of the market, noted that it was in a perfect condition before the demolition.

 

She said, “I have been in the market for years; the shops are in good shape; they are not in distress, so why the demolition? We are all Nigerians, we should have sympathy for each other; they should give us time to organise ourselves even if they want to pull the market down.

When contacted, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, stated that the command was not aware of the demolition and urged our correspondent to contact the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba.

 

Mba, however, said he was not aware of the matter but promised to find out exactly what happened and get back to our correspondent.

 

He said, “I don’t deal with the day-to-day activities of POWA; it is a non-governmental organisation properly registered, but when I’m properly briefed, I can speak on issues concerning them, but now, I don’t have the information; it is news to me and as a matter of fact, I am hearing of it for the first time as you’re speaking to me.