In order to enforce the one-week closure mandated by the state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, security personnel have been stationed at the Onitsha Main Market under the direction of Anambra State Police Commissioner CP Ikioye Orutugu.
Recall that when traders disregarded the state government’s order to sit at home on Monday, Soludo ordered the Onitsha Main Market to be closed for a week.
The governor, along with a few of his assistants and other government representatives, issued the order on Monday while visiting the market.
Onitsha Main Market and its surroundings are being patrolled by CP Ikioye Orutugu, the Anambra State Commissioner of Police. | Credit: Police
Due to the directive, security agencies walled the market on Tuesday. Armored personnel carriers and hillux vans were employed to block key areas of the market, and hundreds of security personnel were seen across the area.
The security guards kept traders and anybody else out of the market.
Recall that the situation sparked a series of protests by certain locals and traders, who on Wednesday halted the main Asaba-Onitsha Expressway that leads to the River Niger bridge for a few minutes until security forces arrived to clear the demonstrators.
Speaking on Thursday at the market reinforcement exercise, the CP stated that his presence is intended to strengthen public safety, confidence, and order throughout the city and its surroundings.
According to Orutugu, the purpose of the visit is to personally oversee and appraise the deployment of police-led combined security forces at key Onitsha locations.
“This is a security assessment tour, to personally supervise and evaluate the deployment of Police-led Joint Security Forces at strategic locations within Onitsha,” he stated.
The Command’s determination to uphold peace, guarantee adherence to legal orders, and stop any violation of public order is demonstrated by its aggressive participation.
“As the Command continues to reassure residents, traders, and commuters of their safety, the security situation in Onitsha remains calm and firmly under control.”
According to Punch Online on Wednesday, some demonstrators were prevented from demonstrating on the Onitsha head bridge over the closure of the Main Market by Anambra State police officers.
On Monday, as the second day of the one-week shutdown mandated by the state governor, Soludo, began, some traders, including locals, blocked the road leading to the head bridge for a few minutes in accordance with the order before the police-led squad arrived to disperse them.
