Traders at the Building Materials Market, Ogidi and Ogbunike, in Idemili and Oyi Local Government Areas of Anambra State, on Friday, protested what they described as “extortion” and “illegal sealing of shops” allegedly by personnel of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria.
The protesters carried placards with various inscriptions such as ‘SON, enough is enough’, ‘Say no to illegal extortion by SON’, among others.
Speaking to journalists as they marched around the major roads across the community, the spokesperson for the traders, Marvelous Line, Kenneth Ofoegbunam, said some officials of SON have been demanding the sum of N8 million from the traders allegedly for an undisclosed offence.
Also, the secretary of the market, Tochukwu Uduezue, lamented that SON personnel focused on markets because their interest was to extort them.
At the time of filing this report, most shops were under lock and key over the fear of a return of the officials for the seizure of goods and seal of more shops.
The Director, SON, Anambra Regional Office, Mathias Bassey, when contacted, denied the alleged extortion of N8 million from the traders, describing it as blackmail.
