Outrage over Ogun market demolition, traders claim N500m loss

There was an outrage on Saturday following the demolition of Mowe/Ofada Market in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State, allegedly carried out by the government officials.

It was gathered that the demolition took place at about 2:00 a.m. on Saturday.

Speaking with journalists during an inspection of the demolished market, one of the affected traders, Mrs. Kabira Ajiboye, said no official notice was issued to inform traders of the government’s intention to demolish the market.

According to her, officials from the Ministry of Urban and Physical Planning had visited the market in 2023 during the local government election period with plans to demolish the structures.

However, she said the exercise was suspended after traders explained that they had paid the required rents to the local government authority.

She said goods and properties worth over N500 million were destroyed during the demolition process.

“There was no demolition notice whatsoever,” Ajiboye said. “In 2023, officials from the ministry came here during the local government election period, but when we explained that we paid our rents to the local government, they left without carrying out the demolition.

“This time, they did not issue any notice. We arrived at our stalls this morning only to discover that everything had been demolished. Goods worth over N500 million have been destroyed.”

She accused the authorities of failing to consider the welfare of the traders, many of whom depend entirely on the market for their livelihoods.

“At the very least, they should have shown compassion by allowing us to remove our goods before demolishing our shops. This is a painful experience for people who rely on their businesses to survive.

“How can you inflict such hardship on people and still expect them to support the government? When we arrived this morning, we found armed policemen stationed around the market,” she said.

Ajiboye appealed to Governor Dapo Abiodun to intervene by providing an alternative location where the affected traders could continue their businesses.

She added that many of the traders had obtained loans to finance their businesses and were now uncertain about how they would recover from the losses.

The State Commissioner for Urban and Physical Planning, Tpl. Tunji Odunlami, declined to comment on the demolition allegedly carried out by officials of the ministry.

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