Onitsha Mkt Closure: Spare Traders Double Jeopardy—Civil Society Cautions Soludo
The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has described the shutting down of Onitsha Main Market by Gov. Chukwuma Soludo and the threat to sustain for as long as they continue to observe sit-at-home as subjecting them to double jeopardy.
Okechukwu Nwanguma Executive Director of RULAAC said this in a Statement while reacting to the directive by Soludo that Onitsha Main Market would be closed for one week for their refusal to open for business on Mondays.
Nwanguma said there was no argument that Monday sit-at-home caused severe damage to the economy of Anambra and Southeast in general with artisans, transporters and workers suffering huge losses.
He said the ongoing standoff between the Anambra government and traders at the main market, Onitsha, was a troubling case of human rights violation and the shrinking of civic space in Southeast.
Nwanguma rather than armtwist traders to risk their lives in the face of threats by non-state actors, the governor should address their fear which was the critical factor driving compliance which to them was a survival strategy.
The Executive Director said even though Soludo acted with the intention to restore economic activity and public order in Anambra, violence and violation of human rights should not be an option.
He called for a constructive engagement between the government and traders’ unions, market leaders, civil society organisations, and security agencies to jointly develop a credible, confidence building strategy to address the menace of sit-at-home
“This fear is legitimate. When traders defy sit-at-home orders issued by separatist agitators and enforced by criminal elements, they are often attacked, intimidated, or killed.
“Security agencies have failed to provide consistent and effective protection to citizens who choose to go about their lawful businesses on sit-at-home days.
“Blaming and punishing traders for staying away from their shops under such circumstances amounts to subjecting them to double jeopardy.
“They suffer the consequences of insecurity and the economic hardship on one hand and get punished by the state for actions compelled by fear arising from the state’s failure to protect lives and property.
“The state cannot lawfully or morally punish victims for the consequences of its own failure,” he said.
RULAAC said Soludo’s decision to seal the Onitsha Main Market and threaten prolonged closure or demolition was a disproportionate and punitive response.
He said peaceful protest was a legitimate and constitutionally protected means of expression and civic participation.
According to him, it criminalises vulnerability instead of addressing the root causes of the problem, which is persistent insecurity, weak intelligence-led policing, and the absence of public confidence.
“Peaceful protest falls squarely within the rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The police have no power to ban protests or to require citizens to seek permission before exercising their democratic rights, their duty is to provide security for peaceful assemblies, not to suppress them.
“A democratic government must never punish people for being afraid when it has failed to make them safe.
“Resorting to coercion, intimidation, and collective punishment of traders portrays the government as a bully rather than a partner of the people.
“Until citizens are genuinely protected from reprisals by violent non-state actors, attempts to force compliance through punishment will only deepen resentment, exacerbate fear, and further shrink civic and economic space in the Southeast.
