Street Trading Ban Remains in Force in Anambra, Offenders to Face Prosecution — OCHA Brigade
By Polycarp Ifeanyi
Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra (OCHA Brigade) has reaffirmed that the ban on street trading remains fully in force across Anambra State, warning that anyone caught trading on streets, roads, and walkways risks having their goods confiscated, being arrested, and facing prosecution.
The agency’s clarification followed a publication on the Facebook page For the Love of Anambra, in which the author alleged that “OCHA Brigade, accompanied by Agunechemba and other security operatives, went to Main Market and started seizing goods belonging to some roadside traders, perhaps those whose shops were demolished.”
When journalists initially contacted OCHA Brigade officials for comments on the publication, they were unable to reach them.
However, the Onitsha Unit Coordinator of the agency, Mr. Ejike Odife, was subsequently contacted via telephone.
Reacting to the publication, Odife described the report as mischievous, biased, and allegedly orchestrated by individuals who claim to love Anambra State but, according to him, oppose the enforcement of law and order.
“We went to Onitsha Main Market alongside Agunechemba and other sister security agencies on a routine clean-up and enforcement operation against street trading and illegal structures. The Anambra State Government has banned street trading, and the law has not been reversed. Therefore, anyone trading on the road is violating the law,” Odife stated.
He explained that many of the affected traders were among those previously displaced when the state government demolished illegal shanties and structures.
According to him, some of the traders had returned to the roads to conduct their businesses, thereby obstructing traffic, littering the environment, and exposing themselves and other road users to danger.
The coordinator further disclosed that, in addition to street trading, open defecation, indiscriminate urination in unauthorised places, and indiscriminate littering of the environment are prohibited in Anambra State.
“If you truly love Anambra, as that Facebook page claims, you should encourage our people to obey the laws of the state. Other states in Nigeria have laws against street trading, and their citizens comply. Why should Anambra be an exception? Must you sell on the road?” he queried.
OCHA Brigade urged members of the public to disregard what it described as propaganda surrounding the enforcement exercise and commended traders who have continued to comply with government directives.
The agency warned street traders in Onitsha, Awka, Nnewi, Ekwulobia, and other parts of the state to immediately relocate their businesses to designated shops within the markets rather than conduct commercial activities on roads, streets, and walkways.
“Street trading remains banned. Sufficient warnings have been issued. Any trader caught trading on the street henceforth will have their goods seized, be arrested, and be made to face the full wrath of the law. There is no going back on the resolve to make Anambra clean, healthy, and liveable,” the agency warned.
Odife also cautioned the author of the Facebook publication and others he associated with the report against using social media to attack the agency’s personnel, stressing that OCHA Brigade would not be distracted from carrying out its statutory responsibilities.
He maintained that the agency remained committed to enforcing environmental regulations, maintaining cleanliness, and promoting public order in line with the vision of the administration of Governor Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo.
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