ROBBERY: Robbers Attack Textile Bizman, Steal N.7m

A businessman believed to be an Igbo textile merchant was weekend confirmed shot by armed bandits at the popular ultra modern Swali Market in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, dispossessing him of N.7million.The attack, according to the leadership of the market, signposts the worrisome rise in cases of armed attacks on customers and traders in the state.LEADERSHIP gathered that the textile merchant was shot in the neck and dispossessed of N.7million while another Igbo trader was reportedly shot dead and dispossessed of valuables.The chairman of the Swali Ultra Modern Market Traders Association,Comrade Famous Odumba, while confirming the development during an interactive session with the leadership of the State Information Management Committee led by Dr. George Fente in Yenagoa, said the security in the state government-owned market had deteriorated, and armed hoodlums were having their way.Odumba told the Information Management Committee that the operations of the ultra modern market had been hampered by poor sanitary condition, security threats, poor drainage system, road side trading, bad roads and political influence in the running of the market.He said though the market leadership had filed series of complaints to the authorities of the Joint Military Task Force, the Nigerian Police, NSCDC and the security officials of the state government, the refusal of the security agencies to save the traders from the clutches of the hoodlums has led to dangerous attacks against traders at will.“The ultra modern market is 80 per cent completed but it has been taken over by hoodlums. The market is where they stay. They attack traders and customers on daily basis. Some customers and traders have lost their lives. These hoodlums come in large numbers and collect millions at gunpoint. We now pay police to protect us,” he said.Earlier in his speech, the chairman of the State Information Management Committee, Dr George Fente, gave the assurance that the Governor Seriake Dickson administration was already tackling most of the problems listed by the traders including, poor drainage, sanitation, traffic congestion and the activities of hoodlums.He explained that the new market project under construction at Kpansia, Yenagoa, is aimed at decongesting the approach to the Swali Ultra Modern Market, ownership of stalls and drainage amongst others.Fente stressed the need for the traders to partner with the state government to address misinformation since the traders are among foremost groups that interface with other members of the public.The chairman urged the traders to continue with their modest efforts at tackling the challenges confronting them as the state government is not resting on its oars. He further assured that the BPIMC will take up all the issues raised by the Swali Ultra Modern Market executive committee with the relevant agencies in a bid to find lasting solutions.