Lagos House of Assembly call state government for relocation of Mile 12 market

Mile 12 fracas: Lagos Assembly
calls for relocation of market
Following the crisis in the Mile 12-Ketu area of
Lagos State last week, the State House of
Assembly has called on the state government to
consider a relocation of the Mile 12 market.
Reacting to the crisis that occurred in the
market last week, where some people lost their
lives and properties destroyed, the House said,
under matter of urgent public importance moved
by the lawmaker representing Oshodi Isolo
Constituency II, Hon. Jude Idimogu that the
incident was unfortunate and should be avoided.
The Assembly consequently called on Governor
Akinwunmi Ambode to relocate Mile 12 and
Owode Onirin Markets to another location after
conducting necessary feasibility studies and
when accompanying infrastructures must have
been provided.
While commiserating with the family of those,
who lost their lives in the incident, the House
condemned the killings and the attitude of
soldiers stationed at the market, but who could
not prevent the crisis.
The House then called on Governor Akinwunmi
Ambode to constitute a high-powered enquiry
into the crisis and punish the perpetrators.
The Speaker of the House, Hon. Mudashiru
Obasa had earlier said that the incident was a
result of disagreement amongst brothers, adding
that the state government should summon
courage and come up with a political will on the
issue.
“Soldiers have been stationed at the
market since 1999, yet they have not
been able to solve the problem. There is
a police station there, what did the DPO
do, when the incident occurred.
“It is a market without structure, we can
move the market to another place if we
can provide an alternative. We should
look at a new planning, we cannot have
such a market at the centre of a
megacity,” he said.
He emphasized that the matter should be
investigated and that the culprits should be
brought to book, and that the military men
stationed at the market should be investigated
since they could not do anything about the
matter before it got out of hand, while also
suggesting provisions of CCTV in our markets.
But Hon. Gbolahan Yishawu suggested that the
matter should be properly investigated to avoid
a -re-occurrence rather than just relocating the
market.
Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Wasiu Sanni
Eshinlokun stressed that the market was not
well organised and that a visit to the place
would revealed that it is not a conventional
market.