By Wole Mosadomi
Minna—THERE was wailing, yesterday morning, when hundreds of traders in Minna, Niger State, got to Tunga Market to find their shops razed, with goods worth millions of Naira destroyed.

The action affected no fewer than 3,000 traders of the market, which started booming when the old  Central Market at Mobil Roundabout was also pulled down by the immediate past administration of Dr. Babangida Aliyu over five years ago, with the intention of building a multi-billion Naira City Centre and shopping mall, that was abandoned.

The operation was said to have been carried out by officials of Niger State Environmental Protection Agency, NSEPA. The state government had described Tunga Market as illegal.

Some of the shop owners told Vanguard that the scenario was the greatest shock of their lives as they were not notified before their shops were demolished

Some claimed that besides the demolition of their shops and other properties, cash amounting to millions of Naira were also lost to the exercise.

However, a trader, Gloria Ezeh, said government served them notice to move out of the market, but that the quit notice expired today (yesterday).

She said traders were not allowed to take their properties before the demolition.

Efforts to reach  the Chairman of Minna Local Government failed. His phone lines were also switched off, but an official of the revenue department in the council, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the local government council was not aware of the exercise.

Contacted, General Manager of NSEPA, Mr. Lucky Barau, said the agency had served the traders notices several times to evacuate the market, but that they did not obey.