Many concerned traders and shop owners from Post Office and Challenge, two popular commercial areas within Ilorin, the capital city of Kwara State, gathered on Monday, January 13, 2025, to voice their discontent regarding the Kwara State Government’s initiative to install barricades that limit access to their establishments.
News360 Info understands that these barricades are part of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s government effort aimed at reclaiming setbacks and curbing road encroachments in commercial zones.
However, the barricades have obstructed key routes linking the Post Office, Challenge, Ahmadu Bello Way, and Tanke Road in Ilorin.
Carrying placards with messages such as “Don’t kill us,” “Challenge is a central market,” and “Single entrance can’t contain us,” the protesters on Monday expressed their concerns about the detrimental effects of these barriers on their businesses.
“Our businesses have been badly affected as we cannot get customers to buy from us. This economic hardship is seriously biting harder,” The PUNCH quoted one of the traders lamenting during the protest.
Further findings by the media revealed that tensions heightened over the weekend when one of the barricade entrances was reportedly torn down.
Security forces from the state police command were swiftly deployed to Challenge to maintain law and order.
Confirming the deployment, a senior police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “We are here to maintain peace and order. The police command remains committed to its constitutional responsibility of ensuring harmony.”
A trader, Toyin Samson, expressed frustration over the lack of access to their shops.
She said: “We have been denied our daily bread because many customers have abandoned us. We appeal to the government to provide more entrances to the Challenge market.”
At a quarterly press briefing, ESV Abdulraheem Sulyman, the Chairman of the Kwara State Geographic Information Service (KW-GIS), addressed the ongoing controversy by clarifying that the reclamation exercise aligns with Federal Government directives aimed at improving security.
“This exercise is being carried out across all 16 local government areas in Kwara State to secure public institutions and major roads,” Sulyman said.
