In the early morning of Monday, June 22, 2020, fire gutted shops and goods worth millions of naira at the Oba Market, Benin City, capital of Edo State, displacing over 100 traders.

Traders who deal in men’s wears, cosmetics, and domestic animal sellers at the popular Hamburger Line were the worst hit.

The then administration of Godwin Obaseki, the former governor, paid compensation to the affected traders and assured them that new designs were being fashioned for the market in line with modern standards. He did not fulfill the promise till the end of his administration in 2024.

NDV visited the market last weekend and observed massive reconstruction works.

Signs indicated that Ashral Standard, a construction company, is the contract. The Public Building Maintenance is supervising the execution for the state government.

The work is slow. – Sandra, stylist

Traders, who spoke to NDV, applauded the reconstruction but called for speedy completion, as the rebuilding was allegedly slow.

Sandra, a stylist, said, “We are happy that they are rebuilding the market, but they should be fast about it because I believe they are a bit slow.”

Don’t politicize allocation of stalls—Ikponmwen, beautician

Judith Ikponmwen, a beautician affected by the inferno, said she managed to stay afloat because of loans she obtained and is presently servicing. Ikponmwen advised that priority should be given to those displaced by the inferno.

“I sell hair, perfume, jewelry, and other things that were not as expensive as they are now. I took some loans, repaid some, and took more to remain in business. I appreciate their work; it is as if they work at night sometimes.

“For me, I am okay here, but those who were affected are now at the back of the market, where they are hardly seen. I was just two years old in the market when the stalls got burnt.

“There are people who have been there for over 20 years. Some of them now sell snacks and sachet water because they were unable to recover, and these are people who had big shops

Criteria for sharing Obaseki’s compensation unclear

“The compensation the previous government brought, we did not know how they shared it. I got only N80,000; some people got N400,000. You know the way things work in Nigeria; it is who you know. I do not know how much was brought, and some people did not get a dime from it.”

Compensation siphoned – Osayande, Hamburger chairman

Young Osayande, the chairman of the Hamburger Traders Association, the worst-hit in the inferno, told NDV, “We are the main people that were affected. The government promised to assist us when the fire incident happened. It released some money, but those in charge then siphoned it. Some got a little, but some of our members did not get anything.”

Our leaders disappointed us.

“We have to locate this place by ourselves, trace those who own them, and start all over again. We have been abandoned here. The leaders of the market at the time, and some security officials, gave parts of the fences to traders. They broke the fences and converted the spaces into shops.

“We are the last people in this market now. Any customer coming here will see them first, and they do not even know that we are still here, except for those who are personal friends and then call to locate us. Right now, we can barely take care of our families because we sell nothing.

“In 2023, we cried to the government, we cried to the authorities of the Oredo Local Government Area. They promised to block the fence. The former chairman made some attempts, but he came under pressure from those people.

“We hear that those traders by the fence settled with the local government officials to be allowed to remain there. Sometimes, we hear the settlement ran into millions of naira, which is why they are still allowed to trade by the fence.”

Protest and fear

“We had protested to the security, including the Delta Broadcasting Service (DBS), to tell them our plight, but nothing was done until Governor Monday Okpebholo came and started the work.

“Since then, they have been working. From the prototype, it will be a good one after completion. Our concern is that the government might not allocate the stalls to us after completion, as they promised us.

“We don’t want the politicians to hijack it. We are the ones directly affected; we are happy with what they are doing there, but we should be given the right of first refusal.

Many traders fled

“We thank Governor Okpebholo for coming to our aid because we are suffering here. We were over 100 before the fire incident; now we are just 32. Many have left because business in this place is not as before. Some took loans and ran away when they could not pay back.

“Some of us are still here because our wives support us, but if the government can close all the shops by the fence, it will be good for us. We urge the governor to speed up the completion of the market.

“You can imagine, by 6 pm, they will tell us to close the market, but those by the fence will stay till 10 pm, doing the same business as us in the same market that they order us to close by 6 pm. Is that not Injustice? How can they allow people to trade in the streets and by the fence? Our lawyer had even written to the authorities on the matter. But no response.”

He said there was an agreement they reached with all those involved, including the desperate traders, leaders, and government officials, but they did not comply with the agreement.

We are suffering—Gbo, secretary.

Corroborating the chairman, Happy Gbo, secretary of the association, said, “The government should do something about the fence because they are vandalising government property. Some of us borrowed money; others could not find a way out. They Relocated to the village. Those of us who borrowed find it difficult to pay back because we are not selling, so we beg the government to take action.”

Oredo LGA gives a quit notice

The Oredo Local Government Area issued a quit notice dated March 21, 2025, to the traders engaged in illegal trading and vandalism of government properties.

The letter by the Head of the Local Government Administration (HOLGA), marked AB/42/T2/25, read, “It has been observed that traders are currently trading in unauthorized places in Oba Market. Also, the traders deliberately create an opening out of the Oba Market fence to erect illegal structures and occupy the same for trading.”

“The actions not only distort the original plan of the market but also cause severe destruction and vandalism of government properties.

“All the culprits are hereby given seven days’ notice to amend and quit these illegal shops or spots. You are advised to comply with the above notice.”

Desperate traders defy the quit order

The unapproved traders declined to comply with the directive at the expiration of the ultimatum. NDV visited the market a’d found that all the shops in the fence were open for business undisturbed. Two of the traders told NDV that they were unaware of any quit notice.

Former shop owners will get priority—Ibhaguezejele, Edo market leader.

The head of the markets in Edo State, Pastor Josephine Ibhaguezejele, commended Governor Okpebholo for reconstructing the market, saying, “He promised that as soon as he enters office, he will rebuild the market. The market was congested, which is why you see traders shading along the roadside. The burnt area was almost collapsing.”

“I went there for inspection and sent a message to the governor. He responded that he would soon visit the project. In less than a month, the contractor disclosed that the government had approved and paid part of the project cost for the market.

“We are all happy, not just because he is building, but because when they have shops and space, their goods will be safe because they will not take their goods home every day. Our governor is not only Akpakorescue; I call him the Akpomessiah of Edo State.

“The former owners of the burnt shops will get priority because they have their papers; those papers that they were given by the local government when the stalls were allocated to them will be used to allocate them their stalls. I will make sure that they get their stalls before we listen to any other person because they lost their goods to the inferno.”

Governor committed to remodeling the market—Ohonbamu.

The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Hon. Paul Ohonbamu, told NDV that the governor was committed to restoring the market to its lost glory.

“The state executive council approved. The restructuring will touch the entire market. The governor is serious about it, and mobilization has been done, and once the council approves, it shows that everything concerning procurement has been done, including the state tenders board.” (Vanguard)