Traders protest continued closure of shops in Lagos

The continued closure of the street is not justifiable and is costing us money, the traders say.

Traders on Breadfruit and Davis Streets in Balogun Market, Lagos Island, where some warehouses were gutted by fire in October 2012, on Monday protested the continued closure of the streets.

The streets were closed by the state government.

The two streets and some nearby ones are still cordoned off and monitored by armed police dep officersloyed there since the incident.

The peaceful protesters matched from the streets to Broad Street, also on Lagos Island. They carried placards with inscriptions that appealed to the state government to re-open business on the streets.

The leader of the protesters and chairman, Island Fashion Dealers Association, Arinze Ugonabo, said that the continued closure of the streets is not justifiable. He said that many of the shops on the affected streets were situated far from the burnt warehouses.

“What we expected was for government to come to our rescue by assisting us rather than stopping us from trading in the area. The shops are over a thousand and have remained under lock and key as policeme