Kano demolition: Traders hold special prayers, accuse govt of insensitivity

Traders whose shops were demolished at the Kofar Mata Eid ground in Kano State Tuesday held a special prayer; seeking divine intervention.

The traders, after observing a two-unit prayer, asked Almighty God to provide them with a better solution.

They accused the government of carrying out the demolition without recourse to due process and the plight of innocent shop owners.

The traders lamented that they were caught unawares as there was no prior notice before the demolition was carried out.

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A trader, Muhammad Sadiq, said the demolition had caused emotional trauma for them that will take a long while to heal.

The state government, in an effort to bring sanity to the physical development of Kano city and reclaim public property, had demolished what it called illegal property worth billions of naira.

Although the government pledged that the exercise was for the good of the state, the affected traders believed that the action had destroyed businesses and taken away jobs from thousands of people across the state.

The state government said it will set up a committee to look into the grievances of property owners in the ongoing exercise to reclaim public property.