The Secretary, Association of Port Harcourt GSM Market Operators, Jeffery Onwuekwe, who also owns a shop at the Laptops and Accessories Dealers Market at Eleme Junction, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Rivers State, tells SAMPSON ITODE how looting affected his business
It was reported that hoodlums under the guise of #EndSARS protesters invaded your market and looted your valuables. When did it happen?
On October 22, I received a phone call in the afternoon and was told that our market was under attack and being looted by hoodlums, despite the fact that there was a curfew that day imposed by the state government, which was why we didn’t open as most of us were at home.
I didn’t waste any time. I immediately rushed to the market, but when I arrived, I saw over 200 hoodlums attacking our shops. I had no choice but to stand afar and watch helplessly as our goods were being carted away. The hoodlums placed barricades on the road and were burning tyres in the middle of the road. Any vehicle that passed through was pelted with stones and destroyed, while others were busy looting our shops.
What did you do while you watched from a safe distance?
I started calling my colleagues and anybody I know, informing them that our market was under attack and begging them to call the police. The hoodlums continued their looting spree until the police arrived around 1pm, hours after the looting started. On sighting the police, the hoodlums ran away, setting some shops ablaze. Most of the traders who were around but could not go close earlier then helped quench the fire in the market. If the police didn’t arrive when they did, the criminals would have burnt the entire market.
What is the worth of goods you lost after the attack?
I personally lost over N500,000 worth of goods. I also lost my tools. I also lost the N100,000 cash I left in my shop.
Now that your businesses have been attacked and you have nothing, what will you do?
The problem is that it seems as if the government doesn’t care about its citizens. But I am determined to survive anyway possible this time round. I am going to start from scratch.
Do you have any appeal to the government?
I really want the government to help traders like me and my neighbours who lost everything they had. It will go a long way. I never believed that a peaceful protest by youths would suddenly turn into looting and destruction of properties of fellow youths.
Were the people who attacked your shops #EndSARS protesters?
No, they weren’t. They were hoodlums, street urchins and criminals. I saw them with my own eyes.
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
