Traders at the Old Garage area of Osogbo, the Osun State capital, have raised alarm over alleged threats, intimidation and vandalism of their shops overnight Tuesday.
The affected traders, mainly phone accessories sellers of Igbo extraction, said they left their shops intact on Monday night only to arrive Tuesday morning to discover their display glass boxes broken.
Shards of broken glasses were seen scattered on the floors of some of the shops while the show glasses clearly carried signs of being broken by forceful hitting.
Speaking during an interview, the President of the Traders’ Association, Mr. Ifeanyi Peter Okoye, said the traders discovered the damage when they arrived at their shops in the early hours of the morning to commence their normal business activities. According to him, several of the glass panels used in their shops had been broken.
Okoye said the traders had for the past two days allegedly received threats from some individuals identified by them as area boys operating around the garage. He alleged that the threats were connected to the traders’ presence at some public events, including a birthday celebration of the wife of the state governor and another event held to celebrate the victory of Governor Adeleke.
Okoye complained bitterly that business was being affected and buyers were avoiding their shops owing to fear of possible attacks by the hoodlums. He said they were just ordinary Nigerians going about their lawful businesses and decried what he described as victimization.
Another trader, Anayo, who spoke on the incident said, “Since Saturday, we have been getting threats from these hoodlums. They have made good their threat to destroy our business.”
Other traders who spoke without identifying themselves for obvious fear of the unknown also confirmed the situation, claiming that they are being targeted for reportedly showing support for Governor Adeleke during and after the just concluded elections.
The traders said the development has created palpable fear in the area, with many customers now avoiding the axis for fear of being caught in any reprisal or escalation. They called on security agencies and the state government to intervene and provide protection for them to carry out their lawful businesses without fear.
As of the time of filing this report, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Osun State Command, Abiodun Ojelabi, had yet to pick up calls nor replied to messages sent to him for reaction.
The state had recently been embroiled in tragic garage tussles during and after elections, with rival groups clashing over control of motor parks, a development that has continued to generate tension and security concerns in parts of Osogbo and other towns.
