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By 
June 22, 2019
Shops
belonging to Nigerians were forcibly locked at Suame in Kumasi, Ashanti region
of Ghana, on Monday. According to GhanaWeb, the traders said they were being
targetted over the alleged involvement of Nigerian nationals in kidnappings in
Ghana.
Four
Nigerians had been arrested over the alleged kidnap of two Canadians.
The arrested
suspects were reported to have abducted Bailey Jordan Chitty and Lauren
Patricia Catherine Tilley who were volunteering in Ghana.
Kizito
Obiora, the chairman of the Nigerian Union of Traders Association, was quoted
to have said the attack started last week. He said they
have been forced to close the shops, and their attackers are demanding that
they return to Nigeria.
He added
that when the attacks started, the police intervened but some unidentified
young men returned on Monday to forcibly lock up their shops.
Some
Ghanaian traders, however, said they were not out to intimidate foreigners but
to encourage authorities implement the statutory laws without fear or favour.
They said
most foreigners in the retail business were just selling their wares without
paying taxes.
They also
accused Nigerian of selling substandard products described as a threat to
consumers.
“Because of
the Nigerians traders, most of the customers do not patronise the products of
the Ghanaians as they are deemed as expensive.
They have
destroyed Kumasi with their new substandard spare parts,” one of them was
quoted to have said.
In a
statement he personally signed, Abikoye appealed to the Ghanaian media to stop
referring to Nigerians based in Ghana as a bunch of criminals.
The police
command in the area had since commenced investigations into the matter.
Earlier, Olufemi Abikoye, Nigeria’s high commissioner to Ghana, had expressed
concerns over the manner in which the Ghanaian press had been “prioritising” negative reports about Nigerians.
concerns over the manner in which the Ghanaian press had been “prioritising” negative reports about Nigerians.
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