Who’s really in charge of law, order in Apo?’ Tyre dealers question Police over market violence

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By Luminous Jannamike

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ABUJA — The Abuja Automobile Tyre Dealers’ Association on Wednesday accused the Nigeria Police Force of failing to rein in what it described as persistent violence in the Apo Tyre Market, asking a pointed question that summed up its frustration: ‘Who’s really in charge of law and order in Apo?’

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Saying they could no longer watch their members live and trade in fear, the traders appealed to President Bola Tinubu, the Inspector-General of Police, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and other relevant authorities to intervene, alleging that repeated attacks, destruction of property and petitions to the police had produced little or no action.

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Addressing journalists in Abuja, the association’s Secretary, Arinze Okoye, said the body had resorted to a public appeal after exhausting other channels. He traced the crisis to a leadership dispute involving the association’s former chairman, Chimezie Ifeh, before accusing him and his supporters of unleashing violence on traders and operating with impunity.

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“If a Divisional Police Officer can sit in his office, receive our petitions, watch our members bleed on video evidence and still refuse to lift a finger, then we ask, plainly: who is truly in charge of law and order in Apo?” Okoye asked.

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He said the Abuja Automobile Tyre Dealers’ Association remained the only recognised umbrella body for tyre, rim, battery and automobile accessories dealers in the Federal Capital Territory, having been registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission since February 21, 1996.

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According to him, Ifeh was elected chairman in 2016 for a three-year tenure but remained in office until 2022, when a caretaker committee organised fresh elections that produced the incumbent chairman, Samuel Akah.

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“Rather than accept the democratic will of the very people who made him Chairman in the first place, Chimezie Ifeh declared ‘war’ on our Association,” Okoye alleged, adding that the former chairman had boasted the administration that succeeded his will not ‘last’ more than three months.

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The association alleged that thousands of tyres, rims and other accessories belonging to it were sold without authorisation during the period, with no account rendered for the proceeds. It also accused Ifeh of floating another association with a name similar to the original body despite what it described as a directive by the Corporate Affairs Commission that the name be changed.

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The traders also recounted a string of violent incidents they linked to the dispute.

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They alleged that more than 30 persons armed with iron rods, sticks and other dangerous weapons invaded their monthly meeting on November 4, 2025, while another attack occurred on July 9, 2026, during the collection of association dues meant to support the family of a deceased member. The clash, they claimed, left several people injured, forced traders and customers to flee and spilled onto the Apo expressway where tyres were allegedly set ablaze, disrupting traffic.

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“Our members and innocent bystanders were assaulted. Traders and customers scattered for their lives… they went on to set tyres ablaze on the newly constructed expressway built by the FCT Minister in Apo,” he alleged.

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Okoye further claimed that the following evening, vehicles conveying weapons, including metal objects and locally made canes known as sanda, were driven into the market, but members intercepted one of them while another escaped.

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He also alleged that suspected thugs invaded the shop of the association chairman’s wife in October 2025 and carted away N1 million meant for the purchase of goods.

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The association equally accused the Divisional Police Officer of Apo Division, of failing to act on petitions submitted to his office, alleging that suspects identified in earlier attacks had remained at large.

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“We place this on record today… that it is our firm and documented position that Chimezie Ifeh has enjoyed the continuous protection of the Divisional Police Officer of Apo Division,” Okoye alleged.

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“Despite several letters written to the DPO demanding the arrest of Chimezie Ifeh and the more than thirty suspects still at large… nothing was done till date.”

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The traders urged President Tinubu to direct the police to restore peace in the market, while calling on the Inspector-General of Police to order the arrest of those named in their petitions and investigate officers accused of neglecting their responsibilities.

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They also appealed to the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, to personally oversee the matter and asked the Corporate Affairs Commission to deregister what they described as a fraudulent parallel association.

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“We are not asking anybody to take the law into their hands. We are asking that the law, the same law that binds every Nigerian, rich or poor, connected or ordinary, be applied without fear or favour,” Okoye said.

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Insisting that they had no interest in violence, the traders said they only wanted to conduct their businesses in a peaceful environment.

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“We are traders. We contribute to the economy of this nation every single day. All we ask for is the right to do so in peace, without looking over our shoulders… We will not relent. We will not be intimidated. We will not back down and we will not stop until every authority we have named here today does what is right,” Okoye said.

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