By Okey Maduforo Awka.
Members of the Association of Radio and Television Technicians in Anambra State (ARTANS) Onitsha have protested the continuous detainton of seven of their members over mandatory payment of N 7 million per shop at the Electronic Dealers market Onitsha Anambra state.
They claim that electronic dealers at Iweka Road, Onitsha, where they conduct electronic repairs, are using government agencies and the police to try to eject them.
According to ARTANS, despite a court order from the Anambra State High Court in Awka, the electronic dealers who have relocated to a new market are employing the police and state apparatus to intimidate and harass them, attempting to force them out of their business premises.
ARTANS members, who are technicians rather than electronic dealers, said that they were not consulted when the new market was being developed and cannot afford to pay the N7 million per shop required.
Chief Sabastine Ebilite, chairman of the association, said that despite a court order restraining government agencies and the electronic dealers from forcibly ejecting them, they are being subjected to arrest, torture, and shop closures.
Ebilite stated that the Registered Trustees of the Association of Radio and Television Technicians in Anambra had sued MD Ocha Brigade Anambra State, Comrade Celestine Anere, Mr. Aka 1010 (real name unknown), the Electronic Spare Parts Dealers Association, Chief Evarest Uba, the Special Adviser to the governor on trade and market, and Mr. Samuel Chinedu, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The court had issued an order restraining them from forcibly ejecting ARTANS members or relocating them against their will.
Ebilite added that electronic dealers have been using government officials and the police to force them into the new market, which they do not consider their own.
He explained that they are incorporated as the Association of Radio and Television Technicians in Anambra State (ARTANS), not as Electronic Spare Parts Dealers, the owners of the new market. He claimed they are being coerced into the new market despite having no interest in moving there.
Ebilite reported that he was arrested and detained at Awkuzu police station for seven days without being charged until his associates petitioned Zone 13, Ukpor. He was then hurriedly charged in court for conduct likely to breach the peace and was granted bail.
He added that his vice-chairman had also been detained since last week through an Agboro who claimed he was assaulted with a gun. The vice-chairman’s wife and others have been unable to bring him food, raising concerns about his well-being.
Ebilite noted that the Anambra State House of Assembly had intervened, reaching an agreement for electronic dealers to move to the new market while repairers remained. Despite this, they continue to face harassment from the police and government officials.
He said their market has been sealed for over a month, leaving them unable to work and support their families,despite the court order prohibiting forcible eviction, their shops remain closed.
He further stated that seven members, including a woman, are still detained by the police. He appealed to Governor Prof. Charles Soludo to resolve their plight, emphasizing that they are law-abiding citizens who pay taxes and levies to the state government.
In response, Comrade Celestine Anere, MD of Ocha Brigade, claimed he was unaware of any court order preventing the agency from carrying out government directives.
He stated that a few individuals who were causing trouble in the market were arrested and taken to the area command. Anere noted that the issue has been ongoing, and the Anambra House of Assembly had previously intervened, agreeing that the dealers should relocate to the new site.
He claimed that it was not his concern about the problem in the Market, and his duty was to enforce the special adviser’s directive. He suggested that the problem might lie with the association’s chairman, who allegedly refused to move to the new market.
According to a court order from the Anambra State High Court in Awka, presided over by vacation judge Hon. D.C. Maduechesi, dated August 20, 2024, the plaintiffs must not be forcibly ejected from their business premises at Iweka Road pending the resolution of the substantive suit. The court ordered that the parties maintain the status quo ante bellum and promised accelerated hearing of the case, with a hearing scheduled for September 10, 2024.
