The recent announcement by the
Department of State Security that the dreaded Boko Haram sect has moved
into Lagos and Enugu has led to widespread tension and fear in the
states.
Ever since the security agency made the
revelation in a press statement on Sunday, residents have not stopped
discussing the ominous implications of the development in the states.
The DSS on Sunday had announced the
arrest of 20 suspected Boko Haram commanders in Lagos, Kano, Enugu,
Plateau and Gombe states between July 8 and August 25, 2015. Some of the
suspects were said to have masterminded suicide attacks in Potiskum,
Kano, Zaria, and Jos.
The Baba Oloja (market leader) at
Owotuntun, Okrika, Kaatangwa market, Lagos, Badmus Aboderin, said there
has been palpable tension among traders since the DSS announced the
arrests.
Aboderin said market leaders had been
holding prayer sessions and holding meetings with security agencies to
secure the market from Boko Haram attack.
He said, “We have told our traders to be
more observant and we have also been meeting with security operatives
to checkmate any planned attack on the market. We pray to God every
Thursday to avert any danger from the market.”
Also, traders at Oba Ogunji market, Agege, Lagos, expressed fear over the development.
The market’s General Secretary, Alhaji Lukman Lamidi, said the market had employed measures to safeguard their shops.
He said, “We’re afraid because we don’t
want anybody to destroy our market or Lagos for us, which is why we
drive everyone away from the market by 6.30pm daily.
“We don’t want anyone to hide in our
shops at night and we have also been holding meetings with the police in
the area. We disseminate any information we get from the police to the
traders to ensure security.”
A trader at Yisa market, Lagos, Adedeji
Ajayi, said he and some other traders had put their lives in God’s
hands, urging the government to efficiently monitor the influx of
migrants into the state.
“God will expose anyone who plans evil
here but at the same time, there are too many people in Lagos who have
no business here,” he said.
Fears of possible Boko Haram attacks has
also been more pronounced among traders in major markets like Ogbete
main market, Artisan market, Kenyata market, Mami market, New Haven
market, Mayor market and Relief market in Enugu.
Our correspondent observed that
transporters and travellers in the major motor parks in the city are
afraid of the Boko Haram sect.
Some traders who spoke to our correspondent expressed concern at the presence of the Boko Haram sect in Enugu.
Mr. Obinna Ozo, who deals in curtains
and fabrics in Kenyata market, said most traders in the market had been
apprehensive since the DSS made the revelation.
Ozo urged the state and federal governments to beef up security in the market.
He noted that reports from the North
East had shown that Boko Haram usually target markets because of the
large number of casualties that could be recorded in such attacks.
He said, “Traders here are apprehensive, we are worried.
“Normally I look forward to coming to my
shop here six days in a week, we don’t open on Sundays, but now I am
not so comfortable in the market.
“Who knows when Boko Haram will strike?
There are many people here, who can tell who is a terrorist or someone
who came to buy, or even sell?
“It is so fearful, everyday we hear in
the news that one market or the other was bombed in Maiduguri and other
areas in the north, and now we have been told that Boko Haram is in
Enugu. I wonder how safe we are.”
Another trader, Amadi Nwobodo, who has a
provisions shop in Ogbete main market, told our correspondent that he
was considering moving his business out of the market.
Nwobodo said he would be more secured if his shop was located in a residential area.
He said, “I am thinking of relocating my shop to a less crowded place, preferably a residential area.
“Experience has shown that crowded places like this market are easy targets for Boko Haram.
“I don’t feel safe in the market anymore but I pray that God will continue to protect us.
“I am not the only one that is worried; other traders here will tell you the same thing, even customers too.”
SOURCE: PUNCH
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