The Edo State Government on Tuesday demolished illegal structures and caravans built under a 132kV high-tension power line in Egor Market, Benin, following a fire outbreak on the overhead line.
The demolition exercise focused on illegal structures and stalls located directly under the high-tension power line within the market and its environs.
As the bulldozer moved in, store owners and onlookers scampered to salvage their goods while the structures were pulled down.
Emotions ran high as some stall owners were seen crying profusely, complaining that the government did not give them enough time to evacuate their goods and property, as others commended the government for the action.
Speaking to newsmen after the exercise, the Managing Director of the Edo State Development and Building Control Agency, Mr Darlington Igabali, said the traders had been adequately informed before the demolition.
“We are executing the directive for the immediate evacuation of all illegal structures and activities along the power line right-of-way,” Igabali stated.
He added that the affected traders made his team’s job easier, as many had already removed a substantial part of their structures before the officials arrived.
The MD emphasised that the demolished stalls belonged to traders who refused to comply with earlier directives, and that no goods were destroyed during the exercise.
“We gave them time to remove all that belonged to them. We made it humanly possible for them to do so before the demolition,” he said.
One of the affected traders, Ms Lisa Iredia, acknowledged that the traders were given a seven-day notice before the exercise and that most of them complied with the government directive.
Another trader, Mrs Grace Odion, commended the government for the demolition, saying the exercise was necessary to save lives.
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