Chaos at Damaturu Sunday Market as Military Enforces Sudden Shutdown, Traders Count Losses
Chaos at Damaturu Sunday Market as Military Enforces Sudden Shutdown, Traders Count Losses
By Alhaji Yusuf, Damaturu
Traders in Damaturu, Yobe State, were thrown into turmoil and suffered significant financial losses on Sunday after military personnel enforced an abrupt and unexplained shutdown of the weekly Sunday market.
Eyewitnesses described a chaotic scene where traders engaged in a running battle with soldiers deployed to halt all commercial activities.
The reasons for the drastic military intervention remain undisclosed by authorities.
According to accounts given to primetime Correspondent, soldiers were strategically stationed at the market as early as 5:00 AM, physically denying traders access to their stalls and preventing the commencement of business.
The move left hundreds of traders and buyers stranded and frustrated.
“The soldiers were already there before dawn. They just wouldn’t let us in to conduct our business,”one affected trader reported.
In a desperate attempt to salvage their day’s income, some vendors of perishable goods including onions, tomatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, and vegetables set up makeshift displays near the main vegetable market.
However, soldiers wielding sticks moved in to disperse them. While no injuries or direct damage to goods was reported, the action effectively crushed their last opportunity to sell.
Typically a lively and vibrant weekly event, the Damaturu Sunday market was left as a hollow shadow of itself, with locked gates and empty stalls.
This incident mirrors a similar event just days prior in Buni-Yadi where traders faced an unannounced market closure on Friday, also incurring heavy losses.
The pattern of sudden military ordered shutdowns is raising alarm among local business communities who depend on these markets for their livelihoods.
As of now, there has been no official statement from military or government officials explaining the rationale behind the market closures.
