The Onitsha Beer Dealers Market Association has organized a peaceful protest in Onitsha where they called on Governor Chukwuma Soludo to come to their aid over an alleged harassment, intimidation and extortion with armed men by one Ifeanyi Franklin Okeke, whom they claimed has forcefully taken over their market.
Speaking during the protest in front of the market, Chief Augustus Nnabuife explained that the land that houses the market which also answers "Nwugo Beer Market" was bought from the Anambra State government in 1988, and that they collected receipt, certificate of occupancy (C of O)and built the structures their in, moved inside the market in 1998, after it was commissioned by the then Military Administrator of the State, Wing Commander Emmanuel Uwakwe Ukaegbu.
He further noted that the Onitsha South Local Government Area gave every shop in the market an allocation paper and that they have been law-abiding, as well as paying all government's taxes and levies, until sometime in August this year when the said Okeke alongside his lawyer entered the market and informed them that he is the new owner of the market, as he bought the said market from the government.
Chief Nnabuife pointed out that he immediately started collecting 1,000 naira levy daily from the over 1,000 shops in the market with the help of armed security men, changed the market's name to "Ihioma Beer Market" which they claimed is his village name, and if not done by his actions, he then informed them that they will henceforth start paying 20,000 naira security levy for each shop monthly, from 1,200 naira they were paying initially, only for them to come to the market on Saturday, 19th July, 2026 and saw that he has locked the whole market and stationed armed men, boasting that the market will not be open until they pay the 20,000 levy.
Corroborating the story, two traders, Nze Donatus Njesi and Mrs. Cordelia Edimobi added that they had done a peaceful protest before in government house Awka, sent their petition to the State government, regretting that the said Ifeanyi Franklin Okeke has been boasting that nothing will happen as he has people in government at all levels, calling on governor Soludo to look into the matter.
For Iwuchukwu Oguguo and Ibe Mmaduabuchi who are equally traders in the market, the State Criminal Investigation Department, CID, Awka invited them for interview sometime ago and they went, only for them to be arrested, taken to court and jailed 7 weeks, revealing that their crime were that they challenged the alleged new owner of the market and that they were recently granted bail, and their matter is still ongoing in the law court.
All efforts to reach the accused person proved abortive as at the time of filling this report.
Source: ABS