Shanties and illegal structures along the bank of the River Niger in Fegge, Onitsha, have been demolished by the Anambra State Government. Sand miners and traders operating in the area had their machines, buildings, stores, and sand beaches demolished as part of the activity, which began on Sunday and continued on Monday, April 22, 2024.
The demolition, which took place less than a month after the council area removed over 2,300 stores in the same region, impacted a number of equipment houses, businesses, and business spaces. According to some sources, the operation has displaced at least 4,000 local traders and sand miners who were conducting businesses around the area.
As the demolition was ongoing, some of the affected sand miners were seen hurriedly removing their equipment, including sand drilling machines, while the traders among them, were seen removing their commodities, including alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, food and snacks, from the scene. This is just as they lamented that the exercise had rendered them jobless and homeless.
One of the properties, a petrol station designated for demolition, nearly created a problem during the exercise when the owners began to agitate and kick against the demolition. The folks in an agitated state were scared away from approaching the demolition location by the vigilante operations’ intermittent shooting.
According to Lucky Okoye, one of the victims, more than 20 homes that housed River Craft Machines, which numbered roughly 40, were damaged. Each River Craft Machine employed 18 to 25 people who are now unemployed. Mrs. Agnes Ezeh, a trader who lost some of her goods in her demolished shop, claimed that Monday’s demolition also wrecked around 60 small-business owners’ shops. Apart from the 250 persons displaced on Sunday during the demolition, sand beaches were also levelled during the demolition exercise, resulting in a total of around 760 displaced people.
