No fewer than 300 traders including women and widows protested in Abuja on Sunday, July 31, over their shops they claimed were taken over by former governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam and his wife, Yemisi.
According to the protesting women, the former governor forceful took over their market despite a subsisting court order, an act they claimed amounted to illegality.
During the protest, the women, under the aegis of Association of Wuye Ultra Modern Market Allottees, called on President Muhammad Buhari to intervene in the market crisis because of a subsisting judgement by the FCT High Court which stated that the traders should take possession of their shops.
The protest, which lasted for about two hours, saw the women carried placards with inscriptions such as,”Mr President, defend the poor traders from persecution”; “Disobedience of court order is corruption”; “Democracy is on trial at Wuye market”; “Gabriel & Yemisi Suswan, you killed Benue State, don’t kill Wuye market traders.”
The spokesperson of the women, Nnaemeka Nwobodo, called on the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, World Human Rights, Due Process Office and good spirited individuals to “rise up for justice today for our tomorrow.”
Below are some of the photos taken at the scene:
