BY EVELYN USMAN & UJU MBANUSI
LAGOS—Protesting butchers, yesterday, took over the premises of the Lagos High Court, Tafawa Balewa Square, agitating against what they described as imposition of the new ‘Eko Meat Van’ on them by the state government at outrageous cost.

The state government had introduced  Eko refrigerated meat van and customized tricycles, to phase out unwholesome means of transporting beef within Lagos abattoirs to markets and finally to consumers, recently.

To ensure strict adherence to the use of the new meat vans, the state government reportedly set up a task force that would arrest butchers found using motorcycles or other means  than the state government’s preferred vans to convey meat.

It was against this backdrop that the  butchers  dragged the state government before the Lagos High Court.

Spokesman for the association,  Wasiu Akande, who lamented  that the meat van provided by the state government at N7.5 million  was expensive, added that it was coming at a time when they were yet to recover from a similar one supplied to them at N3.5 million.

Aside this, he disclosed that the vans were being managed by third parties, who pegged the transportation of two cow laps at N5,600, as against N2,000 which was the case.

He expressed fear that with the  the trend, the price of meat might be beyond the reach of the common man.

Counsel to the association,  Ismail Mohammed, said in spite of the court’s pending action to stay on the matter, several butchers were allegedly battered by security operatives who were enforcing the state government’s laws on the new Eko meat van.

“In all fairness, the law is clear that when an action is pending in court, all hand are meant to be on deck. That is the first intervening circumstances between the last adjourned date and today’s sitting. Between the last adjourned date and today’s sitting, steps have been taken to resolve the matter amicably” Mohammed said.