At least 20 shops belonging to
Nigerians were forcibly locked at Suame Magazine in Kumasi, Ashanti region of
Ghana, on Monday.
According to GhanaWeb, the
traders said they were being targetted over the alleged involvement of Nigerian
nationals in kidnappings in Ghana.
Four Nigerians had been arrested
over the alleged kidnap of two Canadians.
The arrested suspects were
reported to have abducted Bailey Jordan Chitty and Lauren Patricia Catherine
Tilley who were volunteering in Ghana.
Kizito Obiora, the chairman of
the Nigerian Union of Traders Association, was quoted to have said the attack
started last week.
He said they have been forced to
close the shops, and their attackers are demanding that they return to Nigeria.
He added that when the attacks
started, the police intervened but some unidentified young men returned on
Monday to forcibly lock up their shops.
Some Ghanaian traders, however,
said they were not out to intimidate foreigners but to encourage authorities
implement the statutory laws without fear or favour.
 |
| One of the locked shops (Photo credit: Luv Fm, Ghana) |
They said most foreigners in the
retail business were just selling their wares without paying taxes.
They also accused Nigerian of
selling substandard products described as a threat to consumers.
“Because of the Nigerians
traders, most of the customers do not patronise the products of the Ghanaians
as they are deemed as expensive. They have destroyed Kumasi with their new
substandard spare parts,” one of them was quoted to have said.
The police command in the area
had since commenced investigations into the matter.
Earlier, Olufemi Abikoye,
Nigeria’s high commissioner to Ghana, had expressed concerns over the manner in
which the Ghanaian press had been “prioritising” negative reports about
Nigerians.
In a statement he personally
signed, Abikoye appealed to the Ghanaian media to stop referring to Nigerians
based in Ghana as a bunch of criminals.
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