Traders lament as Anambra demolishes structures in Onitsha market
August 5, 2026 12:31 am
Some traders and property owners in Onitsha Main Market in Anambra State are counting losses after the state government began demolition of “illegal structures in and around the market.
The exercise which intensified during the weekend, followed the expiration of one month notice issued to traders and roadside business operators obstructing traffic.
South-East PUNCH reports that over 1,000 shops and structures have been demolished.
Authorities said the affected structures comprised of unauthorised roadside shops, illegal extensions, and structures blocking access routes and masterplan layouts at the Onitsha Main Market.
Targeted structures include unauthorised buildings along Bright Street, Johnson Street, and spaces previously designated as parks or parking zones.
Although, the one month notice issued to the affected traders had already elapsed, but during the exercise on Sunday, our correspondent observed that traders whose shops were affected were trying to salvage goods, just as they also battled to prevent them from being looted. Some of them lost their goods to rubble.
The demolition team, led by the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Chijioke Ojukwu, had already visited and cleared some buildings of lock-up shops on New Market Road, describing the demolition as “long overdue and targeted at roadside shops and other unapproved buildings”.
Our correspondent observed a bulldozer bringing down large buildings housing multiple shops at the National Line Plaza, Bright Street, and Johnson Street opposite Jaguar Plaza into rubble, while a large number of distraught traders watched, wailing and crying.
Some of the affected traders including their leaders, who spoke to our correspondent between Sunday and Tuesday, said they were surprised to see bulldozer entering into the market, bringing down buildings and shops.
A trader and a market leader, whose shops were affected, Uche Iroha, said, “Almost 1,000 shops built by the traders with their hard-earned money have already been demolished at the National Line Plaza alone. Sometimes, I sit down and ask myself; what is the reason one is still existing in this world when what he has laboured for over the years have been reduced to rubble.
“With over 1,000 shops demolished, it means over 1,000 families and households whose livelihoods depend on the shops have been incapacitated. Only those doing business will understand the kind of devastating blow this has caused.
“Imagine, waking up one morning to see your hard-earned labour built over 30 years reduced to rubble within a twinkle of an eye. Most of these buildings and shops were built by the traders and they had the approval of local government authorities and we have been paying dues to them.”
Another victim, Ms Ijeoma, said she arrived in the morning to find her shop and other traders’ shops, warehouse, as well as parking stores completely destroyed, adding that the bulldozer arrived without prior notifications.
“I could not recognise the place. Everything has been brought down to rubble. It is a painful and irrecoverable loss. The place we have built over the years have been reduced to rubble. The entire business community is in shock.
“Although, the authorities said the market is being remodelled, but there is no guarantee that after the exercise, traders who had shops there will still be allocated shops or retain their spaces.”
When asked if the traders did not receive the one month notice, she insisted that the notice was not enough to enable most traders evacuate their goods and other items from their shops, warehouses and parking stores, adding that most traders still had their goods as of the time the bulldozer arrived.
A food vendor, identified as “Mama Chioma”, said, “Sales have gone drastically down since the exercise began as customers who used to patronise us no longer come to the market because their shops have been demolished.
“This has affected every trader, especially cooked food vendors in and around the area.”
However, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Ojukwu, who led the team, said the demolition was targeted at roadside shops and other unapproved buildings, insisting that the exercise followed the expiration of multiple removal notices issued to traders and property owners.
He said, “After the expiration of the first notice, we issued another notice, after that we issued a third one. We also engaged the services of town criers, who had gone round the market to warn people to remove their goods.
“The ministry is committed to sustaining its routine exercise of monitoring and enforcement, to ensure compliance with physical planning laws of the state.
According to the commissioner, the demolition is part of the state government’s ongoing urban renewal efforts to restore order, improve traffic flow, and ensure compliance with physical planning laws, adding that enforcement and monitoring will continue to prevent future illegal developments across Anambra State.
Meanwhile, the President General, Anambra State Amalgamated Traders Association, Chief Humphrey Anuna, hailed state government for restoring sanity to the market, urging traders to comply with government’s directives.
Also, the Commissioner for Information, Dr Law Mefor, clarified that no trader occupying a legitimate shop would permanently lose their space, assuring that the remodelling required the temporary removal of illegal structures and bringing sanity back.
He added that many of the structures were built without proper urban planning, blocking access roads, drainage channels, and emergency routes.
The Main Market, Onitsha, began around 1506 as a small periodic trading site called “Otu-Nkwo Eze” on the banks of the River Niger. It originally operated every four days on Nkwo market days before growing into a permanent commercial hub.
Ikenna Obianeri is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with over 10 years of experience in reporting and storytelling. He conducts incisive interviews, covers crime and environmental issues, and produces engaging feature stories tailored for digital audiences. Ikenna’s work reflects strong newsroom experience, editorial insight, and a commitment to impactful, audience-focused journalism
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