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.”
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