ONITSHA, Nigeria – The Anambra State Branch of the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) has raised alarm over the negative impact of the ongoing closure of the Onitsha Drug Market, revealing that nearly 600 students in the state have been unable to sit for their second-term examinations due to financial hardship caused by the closure.
In a statement signed by the CLO Chairman, Comrade Evangelist Vincent Ekwueme, the group has called on Anambra Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, and other key stakeholders, including the National and State Assemblies, to urgently address the situation.
The CLO claims that the closure of the market has severely affected the livelihood of traders and their families, leading to an inability to pay school fees for their children.
“Information at our disposal indicates that nearly 600 students are not taking part in the ongoing second term examinations due to the closure of their parents’ only source of livelihood,” the statement read.
“It is of prime importance to note that unusual situations call for unusual solutions.”
The CLO has urged Governor Soludo, the National and State Houses of Assembly, Ohaneze Ndigbo, civil society organisations, traditional rulers, and market leaders to convene a stakeholders’ meeting to find both immediate and long-term solutions to the issue.
The statement further outlined the serious consequences of the market’s closure, including a rise in crime rates, youth restiveness, and moral decay, as well as a shortage of essential drugs and the deterioration of public health.
“The closure of the markets has brought avoidable deaths, high costs and inadequate drugs, hunger, anger, poverty, idleness, school dropouts, increases in crime rates, youth restiveness and moral decadence,” the CLO said.
The CLO also called for the establishment of a Judicial Panel of Inquiry to investigate the closure, including allegations of looting of shops not connected with drugs.
They referred to the case of one citizen, Eberechukwu Sophia Okoye, who claimed her goods worth 15 million naira were looted during the market’s closure.
The CLO believes that a thorough investigation would uncover the full extent of the suffering caused by the closure.
“The CLO believes that it is pertinent for Governor Charles Soludo to constitute a Judicial Panel of Inquiry to unravel the circumstances surrounding the closure of the affected markets and investigate the alleged looting of some shops not connected with drug products,” the statement said.
The CLO stressed that the government’s primary responsibility is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of its citizens, reiterating the call for urgent intervention from the governor and the Anambra State House of Assembly.
“The greatest essence of government is the protection of lives, livelihoods, and property of its citizens,” the CLO emphasized.
The organization concluded by warning that the continued closure of the Onitsha Drug Market would only worsen the existing problems, exacerbating youth restiveness, crime, and the potential expiration of drugs left unsold in the market.
“The continued closure of the market will exacerbate crimes, criminality, idleness, youth restiveness, deaths, illness, school dropouts, high costs of drugs, and the possibility that remaining drugs may expire if the reopening is delayed further,” the statement cautioned.
