“Hungry dey o! We go chop! Have mercy on us we hawkers, please Nigeria!” sang over 250 street hawkers led by one man on Thursday, as they walked more than one hour over a distance of 15 kilometres to protest the incessant harassment of Nigerian government officials.
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“Hungry dey o! We go chop! Have mercy on us we hawkers, please Nigeria!” sang over 250 street hawkers led by one man on Thursday, as they walked more than one hour over a distance of 15 kilometres to protest the incessant harassment of Nigerian government officials.
Armed with only tree leafs, the women, some pregnant and others nursing mothers with babies on their backs, walked from Mpape, a densely populated suburb in Abuja, along the expressway through several districts till they reached the National Human Rights Commission headquarters located at Maitama in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory. The women, mostly banana and groundnut sellers together with Ahmad Isah, a human rights activist, defied the scorching sun and speeding vehicles along the highways, to demand the task force of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (A.E.P.B) treat them with respect, fairness and equity.
“Task Force arrest my 15 year old son because he’s selling banana. They collect N1,800 from him but they still lock him for one week two days,” said Grace Benjamin, who sells banana at Amigo Supermarket in Wuse 2 to cater for her 9 children. “They go say make I go Bwari, Area 11, Area 3, Area 10, Wuse Police station, Minister’s office, today here, tomorrow there. Because of this issue the money that I waste almost N10,000 before they release my son.”
The agency, saddled with the responsibility of enforcing environmental laws including prohibiting street hawking, has a notorious history of extorting, brutalising, intimidating and harassing Nigerians and foreign nationals alike. The AEPB task force in June had made to arrest an international human rights observer from Amnesty International, Lucy Freeman, for taking pictures and speaking to displaced people during the destruction of an Abuja slum known as Tora Bora, along the Garki-Apo Roundabout. Barely a week ago, their operations was reported to have led to the death of an orange hawker who was knocked down by a vehicle while trying to run away from them; likewise newspaper vendors recently threatened to go on strike following their incessant harassment.
A mother of six, Ugu Chizoba, while backing her baby, narrated events of Monday, November 21, when the environment task force officials in their AEPB branded black attire raided locations around Wuse Bus stop. “Them dey beat us as them dey pursue us. One carry hammer nack me for leg,” Several other women arrested and taken to the AEPB office in Area 3 said they had to pay varying sums ranging between N5,000-N10,000 to bail themselves. They were never given receipts.
“These women have been on the streets shedding tears. But no one, not even our House of Representatives have cared to listen to their cries,” said Mr. Isah, who aired their plight on the Brekete Family Show, a live radio human rights talk show he hosts. “I took it upon myself to help these women to undertake this peaceful protest to the doorstep of the National Human Rights Commission. These are mothers who are breadwinners seeking to make ends meet to cater for their families. They are not criminals so the AEPB should treat them with respect”.
When Samuel Musa, the agency’s spokesperson was contacted on Thursday he refused to comment, and forwarded the number of his superior whom he said was authorised to speak on the matter. But the superior, whom Mr. Samuel had refused to disclose his name, stated “Why should Mr. Samuel give you my number. I am not the spokesperson for the organisation. It is Mr. Samuel. Call him.” Mr. Samuel subsequently switched off his phone.
The National Human Rights Commission acting executive secretary, Oti Ovrawah, while receiving the protesting women promised to present their complaint before Bala Mohammed, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
“While there are rules which must be kept, there is also the need to do things right,” she said. “In coming to a solution to this problem, we have compiled the names and numbers of all the women; and with their petition we will take it to the minister. We will ensure this matter is treated with urgency.”
For the women, their cries are that the government should provide them with affordable stores from where they can sell their wares, as in their words, “We no dey steal, we no dey do ashewo [prostitution]. Na banana and groundnut we dey sell to feed our children. And na una big man, big madam with una children we dey sell for. We no find trouble. Please help us”.
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