Police raid Baga Fish Market, disrupt congress meeting in Borno

Operatives of Borno State Police Command have raided the Baga Fish Market and disrupted the association’s congress meeting in session by carting away chairs and throwing teargas at the members.

The incident, which occurred on Thursday, when members of Baga Road Youths and Elders Fish Producers and Marketers Association, were attempting to elect their new constitutional executive members.

Addressing newsmen during a press briefing in Maiduguri, the spokesman of the forums, Abdullahi Alhaji Idi Bako, lamented over the forceful invasion of their Congress by the police and called for the immediate intervention of Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum before the situation gets out of control.

According to him, such situation is bedeviling the survival and sustainability of the famous market and its revenue generation.

Alhaji Bako, further, lamented the poor leadership style and mismanagement of the association’s revenues as he accused the incumbent excos of dictatorship and failing to account for over N200 million revenue generation for the past 21 years.

He said the association which comprises of both Youths Fish Producers and Marketers Forum, Elders Fish Producers and Marketers Forum and the Board of Trustees have been in mess and deserve urgent government attention as invisible forces are interfering and instigating internal crisis.

Abdullahi added that,” the refusal of the imposed and illegal leadership of the association to vacate office after its first and second constitutional tenure has expired about 13 years ago, was shamelessly rubbished by some internal forces, who can not account for over N200 million generated by the members in the past 21 years from the N1500 tax being collected per carton daily.”

” Even the over stayed Exco are collecting daily levy of N100 on each carton as market revenue and collaborating with the government newly constituted ad hoc committee on revenue collection selfishly at the market which their presence and activity has been ineffective, selfish and non transparent as well as the N30 million being generated from the N100 bevy being charged daily on every consignment at the market,” Abdullah said

The Leader of the concerned members of the Baga road fish producers and Marketers forums also alleged that the long serving Chairman of the association, has been on the seat for over 21 years instead of 4 years single tenure and 8 years second tenure of re-elected Exco oppressing over 13,000 members of the association within and outside the state dictating on them contrary to the provisions of the constitution.

He also accused the Chairman of diversion of over N200 million revenue generated by the fish market members in the past 21 years without accountability at the detriment of the association members.

“We generate daily on every carton of fish in the market tax of N1,500 per carton and N100 Levy in each carton for the association , which is both the youths and elders producers and Marketers forums but until now. All these years we don’t see any development or progress in the market neither anybody accounting for the over N30 million which we generate monthly in the market.

“I don’t think Governor Zulum is aware of this embezzlement or fraud despite the corruptive way and.manner the revenue generated in the market is being mismanaged without transparency and accountability because the leadership of the market association has failed to comply with the provisions of the constitution of the.association and all efforts and procedures to address the illegality through lawful and legal ways have been truncated by political powers or otherwise in the past 5 years,” Abdullah said.

According to him,” “the issue was ever reported to EFCC , NPF DC Headquarters, NSCDC, DSS and others by the Congress of the Fish Producers and Marketers Association but without positive result as the 21 years sitting Exco of the fish market association who has been imposing itself on the members and this is tarnishing the image of members not only destroying the activities of the.assocation”.

“Presently, as we hold this press conference, we gathered that over 100 policemen have been deployed to the market and on surveillance round the market depriving buyers and sellers into the market especially, the fish shop and store owners”, Abdullahi added.

Meanwhile, efforts to get reactions from the spokesman of the Borno State Police Command, ASP Daso Kenneth, could not yield any positive result as at the time of filing this repor