Boko Haram: Tension in Lagos, Enugu markets over DSS arrests

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.”