Petty Traders Association at Shopping Center Complex, Watt Market, Calabar formally known as Okrika Traders Association have sued the Calabar South Local Government as well as Esther Bassey the Executive Council Chairperson to court NEGROIDHAVEN can report authoritatively.
The suit number is HC/382/2022. A high court (court 4) sitting within the Calabar Judicial Division called up the case for hearing on Monday where the presiding judge His Lordship, Justice Eleyias Abua, listened to the case.
The legal suit is in respect of the 2nd January 2023 unlawful harassment, intimidation, torture and destruction of the goods of the petty traders by thugs acting at the instance of Calabar South LG and Esther Bassey the chair of the said local council authority with the aim of illegally ejecting the traders and reassigning their open spaces to other persons.
Council to the plaintiff, Chief F. O. Onyebueke Esq informed after listening to the suit for the first time by the counsels of both parties, the presiding judge ‘warned the defendants (the council and Chairperson) against further harassment, intimidation, torture, and destruction of the petty traders goods’. According to him, the suit has been granted accelerated hearing by the presiding judge and will be heard again on Monday next week.
The traders are asking the court to grant them the sum of one hundred million Naira (N100,000,000.00) only against the defendant ‘jointly and severally as compensation for harassment, ejection of the claimants from their market stores for two (2) weeks and use of thugs on the claimants and their members and the destruction of goods during their invasion’.
Recall that NEGROIDHAVEN had reported about the harassment, intimidation, and torture of one of the traders, Chinedu Igwe, who incidentally is the Vice Chair of the Association on the said 2nd February until he slipped into coma for over 3 years.
EDITORIAL
This story amongst others are reviewed on Sparkling 92.3FM http://mixlr.com/sparkling923fm–2 and FAD 93.1FM. Again, opinions expressed on NegroidHaven are exclusively the author’s not NH’s.
