Cattle Traders in Kara Market, Bukuru town in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State have protested against the state government’s plan to evacuate them from the market.
The Jos Metropolitan Development Board (JMDB) had on Monday gave two weeks’ ultimatum to the traders in the market on the grounds that the government is building a stadium in the area.
But the traders said relocating them from the current cattle market to Gero or Sabongida area, proposed as the new cattle market during the former Governor David Jang administration, would put their lives in danger considering the ethno-religious crisis that has been bedeviling the state for many years.
They added that Kara Market served as a centre of unity where people from different ethnic groups converge for business transactions.
The traders disclosed these during a press conference held in the market on Friday, led by Hamza Ahmad Yusuf, the youth leader of the market, saying that though they were not against the government’s policies, it was paramount to have a rethink over the consequences on them.
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He said, “The people of Bukuru still hold fresh in their minds the horror of the discoveries made by the Nigerian Army when they uncovered a shallow grave containing the remains of missing Maj. Gen. Idris Alkali (rtd), cattle vans, motorcycles, and other belongings of our members, which were found alongside the General’s car in a pond at Dura Du.
“We have not forgotten what happened at our former graveyard in Gero Community a few years back, when those attending burials were beaten, some killed, and corpses were exhumed and mutilated. These incidents are casting doubts in our minds as regards our safety if we relocated to the mentioned areas.
“We in the affected community are not challenging the government’s decision to relocate the cattle market, but in view of the security challenges posing threats to our lives in the state, where the government’s role is to protect lives and property and promote the socio-economic wellbeing of its citizens, we are appealing for consideration of our plight.”
The traders however appealed to the state government to reverse its planned decision and allow them continue with their business at the current cattle market in the spirit of peace, unity and development of the state.
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