From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa
The Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), in charge of Zone 16 headquarters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, Paul Alifa Omata, has taken a swift action in response to the alleged petition to arrest Igbo traders in the Ultra Modern Swali market in the state.
AIG Omata, who received the leadership of the Igbo traders in his office also gave an order to stop any further arrest of Igbo traders and assured the traders that he will investigate the matter and put a stop to it.

It was observed that the Igbo traders in Swali market were experiencing a lot of arrest as a result of a petition written against the chairman and the entire Igbos traders in Swali market by the market mistress, one Mrs. Mildred Egele, alleging that they protested against her.
The chairman of the Igbo traders in Swali Ultra Modern market, Mr. Jude Osigwe, who spoke to Daily Asset said that he was abducted on March 17, 2024, by masked police officers from Zone 16 with tinted Hilux vehicle, armed without police uniform and no warrant of arrest when he was asked to enter the vehicle.
He said, “I summoned courage and asked who are you people? So the people were looking for me because the police refused me to make calls. When they looked after 24 hours and they did not see me, nobody was able to reach me, they started protesting because my lawyer was able to tell them that they had seen a petition written to Zone 16 by Mildred Egele through the office of Trade and Investment.
“That was what prompted the protest and it was a very peaceful protest. To our greatest surprise, after then, she wrote another petition arresting everybody. So that was why we are here to see the AIG in charge of Zone 16. The AIG wields into the matter and the first thing he did was to stop the arrest and also asked the IPO to do the needful. He has also given myself and Mildred an invitation so that he can actually know the problem and put an end to it. So we are very grateful.
“Initially, she wrote a petition against me in which the court dismissed the charges because she didn’t have any evidence against me. It was that petition that prompted my subjects’ petition because they lost the case in court. She then wrote another petition against the people that protested for the wrongful arrest they did on the 17th of March.
“What caused the issue is the same market leadership that we are still crying out. We don’t have a general union chairman and she has been parading herself as traders union chairperson. But she is a civil servant working for the state government and we have an association piloted by the traders but the person that will lead must be a Bayelsa man.
“Our own is to vote and the consent judgement already gotten from the court mandating the former chairman, Jackson Doubra, to go in line with our constitution. He has disobeyed the court order and instead of Mildred advising the government on the right thing to do, she was deceiving everybody including the government for us not to have a leader so that she will be controlling the affairs of the market.”
The first executive vice chairman of the Ultra Modern Swali market and patron, Sir Sam Eze, said that the Igbo traders in Swali market are about 400, adding that they have come to meet with the AIG so that everybody that went for the protest should be arrested or be taken to court.
“They keep inviting us to the police, we will leave our business, you know we are Igbos and we focus on our business. We don’t have anything else to do with anybody other than our business. They will come today, pick one person, tomorrow another person just like that. Until today, we decided to come and see the AIG”, he said.
The woman leader of Igbo traders in Swali market. Dr Mrs. Firstlady UC, said that she was the one that took about five Igbo traders that were arrested on the first day on bail, adding that as Igbo men and women doing business in Bayelsa, they have lost a lot of money coming to Zone 16 from morning till night.
She said, “We were here from morning till about 8:30pm and they gave us another appointment the following week. We came and stayed from morning again till night. Imagine business men and women coming here from morning till night, we are not police officers, we are business people as Igbos. We don’t have salary, we don’t have office.
“This is the fifth time I have come to Zone 16 because of this same case and I came from the hospital where I was taking a drip. We have seen that the thing is getting out of hand, so we decided to see the AIG and report this issue to him which he said he was not aware of. He has put a stop to the arrest which we are very comfortable with, then he gave us a date probably to end this matter.”