Baba L’oja of Ifo Igbo Market Traders, Theophilus Ikpeghibumo, tells BIODUN BUSARI how hoodlums have been harassing traders at the Ifo market with no solution in sight before they stabbed Mrs Blessing Eze to death
What will you say about the incident that claimed the life of one of your members?
It was a sad day for us as Igbo traders in this Ifo market on Friday, June 6, 2025. Some hoodlums were going around in the market and forcefully asking people to part with their money. They called it ‘owo odun’ which translates to ‘festive money.’
They came to Mrs Blessing Eze, who was an amiable and popular woman in the market. They asked her for money, and she told them she had just come to the shop and had not sold anything that day. It was around 11 am.
They (hoodlums) met her displaying her wares. She sold clothes. She asked them to come back some hours later, maybe she would have sold any of her items by that time and give them what they had asked for. That was how one of them brought out a knife and stabbed her in the chest.
Who were these people?
They were agberos or touts. What they do is to forcefully collect money from us in the market. That is what they are known for. They go about extorting money from traders.
Has something like this happened before in the market?
I’m Chief Theophilus Ikpeghibumo. I’m the Baba L’oja of Igbo market traders. I can tell you that I’ve not experienced something like this before. However, the Igbo traders in this market have been experiencing all manner of intimidation and injustice for a long time in this market. But this incident was just shocking.
Has the suspect been arrested?
I don’t know. I only know that the police promised us that very day that they would bring the culprit to book, but nothing has happened. The police who made promises have not told us if the criminal has been apprehended or not. They said that when they get hold of him, justice must prevail.
Do these thugs intimidate only Igbo traders or all the people in the market?
I don’t know if the Yoruba or the Hausa experience extortion, intimidation, and harassment like the Igbo. I think they would have voiced out if it were the same for them. All I know is that the Igbo in this market bear this problem.
Have you lodged any formal complaint to the authorities about this injustice?
We have been reporting to authorities since God knows when. Nothing has changed. If we reported any suspects, and they were caught or arrested, the next morning, you would see them walking freely on the streets again. This meant our reports and complaints had no weight to grant us justice. If there were any changes, maybe it would happen now after the incident.
What other steps were taken in the past by the Igbo traders in the market?
We first shut down our businesses after the incident happened. We shut our market because we were in pain. The pain was unbearable. Then, we had meetings on the way forward to stop this anomaly. After that, we met with important figures at the helm of affairs to give us an audience and intervene.
What kind of justice do you want?
At the meeting we had with the DPO and the Chairman of Ifo Local Government Area, we told them that there should be an end to the forceful and illegal collection of money from our people in the market.
