By Polycarp Ifeanyi
The Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra (OCHA Brigade) has warned street traders across Anambra State to vacate roads, streets and walkways immediately or risk having their goods confiscated, being arrested and prosecuted.
The agency reaffirmed that the ban on street trading remains fully in force, stressing that the state government has not reversed its decision to prohibit trading on roads and other unauthorised locations.
The warning follows a publication on the Facebook page, For the Love of Anambra, alleging that OCHA Brigade, alongside Agunechemba and other security operatives, stormed Onitsha Main Market and seized goods belonging to roadside traders, possibly those whose shops had been demolished.
When journalists initially contacted OCHA Brigade for comments, they were unable to reach its officials. However, the agency’s Onitsha Unit Coordinator, Mr. Ejike Odife, later responded to inquiries by telephone.
Odife described the publication as mischievous and biased, alleging that it was intended to discredit the agency’s enforcement activities.
He explained that OCHA Brigade, in collaboration with Agunechemba and other security agencies, visited Onitsha Main Market as part of a routine environmental sanitation and enforcement operation targeting street trading and illegal structures.
“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.
The coordinator disclosed that some of the traders affected by the operation had previously been displaced during the government’s demolition of illegal shanties and structures but had allegedly returned to the roads to continue trading.
According to him, such activities obstruct traffic, degrade the environment and expose traders and other road users to danger.
Beyond street trading, Odife said open defecation, indiscriminate urination in unauthorised places and environmental littering were also prohibited under the state’s environmental regulations.
“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 residents to disregard what it described as propaganda and commended traders who had complied with government directives by conducting their businesses in designated market spaces.
The agency specifically warned traders in Onitsha, Awka, Nnewi, Ekwulobia and other parts of Anambra State to relocate their businesses to authorised shops within markets, warning that further violations would attract sanctions.
“Street trading remains banned. Sufficient warnings have been issued. Any trader caught trading on the street henceforth will have his goods seized, be arrested, and made to face the full wrath of the law. There is no going back on the resolve to make Anambra clean, healthy, and livable,” the agency warned.
Odife also cautioned the author of the Facebook publication and others against using social media to attack the agency’s personnel, insisting that such criticism would not deter the brigade from carrying out its statutory responsibilities.
He maintained that OCHA Brigade remained committed to enforcing environmental regulations and maintaining cleanliness and order across the state in line with the vision of Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo’s administration.
Tags: Anambra State, OCHA Brigade, Street Trading Ban
