Abia Cattle Dealers Sue Govt Over Planned Market Shelters’ Demolition

Cattle dealers at the Laokpanta Garki Cattle Market, Umuchieze in Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State have dragged the state government to court over the decision to make the market a daily market and demolish residential shelters inside the market. The state government moved to convert the market the market to a daily market after it announced last October that security agents uncovered 70 decomposing corpses and skeletons in forests near the market.

The government said the discovery indicated that kidnappers had made the cattle market the operational base for their criminal activities, including collection of ransom on kidnap victims. But the cattle dealers insisted that there was no illegal activities at the market, challenging the government to display the 70 corpses said to have been discovered.

The traders claimed that they have a right to reside inside the market, while the government forges ahead with its plan to remodel the market and make it non-residential. They insisted on sustaining their culture of living inside the cattle market, but the Abia government has decided to end the practice, citing security reasons.

The suit filed to challenge the government’s decision has as defendants the state Commissioner for Lands, Chaka Chukwumerije, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ikechukwu Uwanna, the Chairman of Umunneochi Local Government Area, Ndubuisi Ike and the state Commissioner of Police.The suit which is slated to commence on March 13, 2024 would consider the application for interlocutory injunction filed by the applicants to stop the government from executing its plan of demolishing residential houses in the market.

Source: Punch