Coconut traders in Badagry, yesterday, staged a peaceful protest against the seizure of 1,450 bags of locally sourced coconut on October 27 by men of the Nigeria Customs Service on Agbara Road, Lagos.
The traders, under the auspices of Lagos State Coconut Sellers and Traders Association (LASCOSTRAS) in their hundreds, staged the protest at the Akran of Badagry palace and Badagry Local Government Secretariat in Ajara, carrying placards with various inscriptions
LASCOSTRAS General Secretary Tunde Hunpatin, said the protest was to express the traders’ displeasure over the seizure of the coconut and harassment of the traders by Customs officials.
At the Akran palace, Hunpatin appealed to Aholu Meno Toyi I, to save the traders from constant harassment and secure the items from Customs officials.
“We have more than 100 communities within Badagry axis that produce coconut and many people are coming from different states in Nigeria to buy from us.
“These customers no longer come because of the fear of harassment and seizure.
“We don’t want our coconut market to perish just because of border closure. We have been in this business 100 years back.
“Our coconut is not from Ghana, security agents should check properly, we are not frustrating government efforts, so Customs should not kill us,” Hunpatin said.
Receiving the letter, Akran promised the aggrieved traders he would wade in and ensure normalcy returns to the matter.