Douala: Traders protest “frequent extortion” by state agents.

The traders said the commercial agents have been constantly harassing and extorting hundreds of thousands from them without necessarily issuing receipts or explaining the purpose for the collected sums.

Making their plight known to the public via a protest Friday August 25, the traders shut their shops from Camp Yabassi to Koululoun and beyond. They said the accused agents from the Delegation of Trade have gone overboard in the manner in which they collect money from them.

"We traders, Cameroonians or Nigerians, are coerced to pay huge sums of money, sometimes up to millions of FCFA. This, after paying taxes to government coffers," they cried out.

The President of the Traders’ Union, Lena Christopher, speaking to reporters, said these commercial collectors have been on our necks, collecting money on several occasions without any receipts issued. He added that they have had enough of such "illegal extortion". 

To make matters worse, one of them, Cajetan Igwebe, was arrested on Thursday. The community of traders, infuriated by the act, came out as one man early Friday morning. They called on government to see into their plight else, their protest will carry-on till a suitable solution is arrived at. 

"He, Cajetan Igwebe, has paid his taxes. The gendarmes came and took him to the Gendarmerie Brigade of Koululoun. The motive, we don't know because he has paid his taxes," Lena decried.

He continued that: "The agents did that because Igwebe had refused to give them money to put in their pockets. Those whose shops were spared are those who gave them money. We don't want to encourage that again. That is why, today, we have come out as one voice because we want the government to hear our complaint and solve our problem". 

Complaints channeled to governor, SDO, minister…

The traders disclosed that they have channeled their complaints to the Governor of the Littoral region, Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, of the Wouri and the Minister of Justice and Defence. 

The said the Regional Delegate of Trade had told them mockingly that their complaints will never be looked into because his brothers “are the ones working in those offices”.

Meanwhile, talking to this reporter, the Littoral Regional Delegate of Trade, Simon Belinga Omgba, made contradictory claims, debunking the allegations of the traders.

He said the traders have to respect the laws and principles regulating trade. Belinga said they have failed to comply with set rules on importation and the biggest problem is that his agents are out to strictly implement the laws. 

He added that he has met with the traders on several occasions, to sensitise them on the need to pay their dues. The official however said he had noticed that one individual has been instigating the others to riot against state authorities. 

The said individual, he said, had forcefully opened his sealed shop without authorisation, reason he was arrested. 

Omgba, talking to pressmen, added that since 2021, traders of Camp Yabassi, have not paid a single franc at the Delegation of Trade.

He, however, reiterated the brotherly relation that exists between Cameroon and Nigeria. To this regard, he called on the traders to abide by the laws governing the land.