Angry Buyers Beat up Garri Sellers in Edo Market over Price Hike

 

Violence broke out out at Oregbeni market in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State on Thursday as protesting buyers beat Garri sellers in the market and forced them to reduce the cost of Garri which has been hiked probably due to COVID-19.

Following the partial lockdown imposed on residents of the state by the government as part of efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus in the state, the price of Garri rose from N1, 600 to N2, 800 per landline rubber of the product while a bag which was N8,000 before now rose to between N12, 000 and N15,000.

Some residents who have remained indoors went to the market only to find out that the prices of Garri and other food items are beyond their reach.

Angered by the sudden increase in price, the people at the market asked the market women to reduce the price in the interest of the COVID-19 pandemic which has caught the nation unawares.

The situation later became rowdy as more customers in the market gathered to protest the increase in the price of the food items and later pounced on the market women and beat them up.

 

Following the outbreak of violence in the market, the traders association immediately met and reversed the price of all the food items to the old price before the COVID-19 partial lockdown in the state.

A resident of the state, Mr. Osaze Okunbor, who witnessed the incident, said it was unfair on the part of the market women to increase the cost of food items knowing that people do not go to work again because of coronavirus. 

He said: "It was a thug of war; we begged the market women but they claimed that they were selling what they bought. We wonder why the price of food items will suddenly go up within such a short period; it is an act of wickedness."

According to Okunbor, a lot of people were happy by the action of the youths in beating the market women which resulted in the reversal of the food item price to the old one.

"How can we survive as a country if we continue to treat ourselves this way? Tell me is Garri imported food item that its price suddenly jumped up? This is absolute rubbish."

Efforts to get the Edo State Police Command reaction on the incident proved abortive as the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP. Chidi Nwabuzor, did not pick his calls neither did he reply the message sent to him on the incident.