6 Arrested, 3 Injured As Nigeria-Ghana Traders Clash

Policemen patroling TipToe Lane at Circle, Accra after the clash yesterday

Six persons have been arrested following a bloody clash between Nigerian and Ghanaian traders in Accra.

Three persons, according to police, were injured during the Monday morning fight at Kwame Nkrumah Circle following attempts to close shops belonging to Nigerian traders.

Earlier report suggested that the aggrieved Nigerian traders attacked their Ghanaian counterparts with guns and machetes.

ACP Abraham Acquaye, the Nima Police Divisional Commander, confirmed the arrests and injuries to DAILY GUIDE.

There has been tension between Nigerian and Ghanaian traders in recent times.

Shops belonging to Nigerian traders in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region were also shut down this year by the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA).

Ghanaian traders feel foreigners, particularly Nigerians, Chinese and Lebanese, have taken over their retail business.

The Vice-President of All Chairmen Association, a Ghanaian Traders’ group, Kwadwo Dankwa, told journalists at Circle that Nigerians had succeeded in taking over business from Ghanaians through what he called unfair trade practices.

He said Nigerian traders in Ghana were recruiting their relatives from Nigeria and placing them at vantage points to gain hold of the market over their Ghanaian counterparts.

A Ghanaian trader, Kwabena Adjei, in an interview, could not understand why Pakistanis were even into retail business in Ghana.

BY Melvin Tarlue