Protest: Stay Away From Our Markets – Abuja Markets Mgt Cautions

The Abuja Markets Management Limited (AMML) has called on traders and other market users in the Federal Capital Territory to assist in its efforts, along with those of security agencies, to prevent the market from being infiltrated by individuals with harmful intentions posing as peaceful protesters.

AMML also warned those who wish to protest to stay away from its markets, saying they are only designated for buying and selling and nothing else.

“I understand that it may not hold as many groups are withdrawing from it. I also learnt that there are designated places and locations as well as other rules guiding the protest. We are just being proactive here to state emphatically that if you must protest, stay away from the markets”, he declared.

Speaking with traders and other stakeholders over the weekend in reaction to a proposed peaceful protest on August 1 2024, the Acting Managing Director of Abuja Markets Management Limited, Engr. Abbas Yakubu cautioned that experiences including a very recent one, showed that miscreants will not stop at anything to take advantage of any type of gathering in the market, whether peaceful or not.

Engr. Abbas reminded the traders how some shops in Wuse market, offices and Police station were torched and millions of Naira worth of property destroyed just a few months ago by miscreants who have no stake in the market.

Noting that the market was yet to fully recover from that incident, the Ag. MD maintained that Abuja Markets Management Limited cannot afford to risk a repeat of such occurrence in any of its market.

‘’We have history of protests and other incidents cascading into wanton destruction of properties in our markets. No responsible Management or trader will fold his hands and wait for it to repeat itself. That is why we are urging you all to mobilize your fellow traders, the wheel barrow pushers, your apprentices and everyone who has legitimate business in the markets to resist any attempt at infiltrating the market by hoodlums in the guise of protests’’, he advised.

He said the market as a business environment is designated for buying and selling and therefore should be jealously guarded by the owners and operators for that purpose.