Nigerian woman commits suicide over closure of shops in Ghana

A Nigerian woman has committed suicide following the closure of her shops by Ghanaian authorities, the National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTs), Ghana Chapter, reported in Abuja yesterday.

The association disclosed this during a visit to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, to seek the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari on the matter.

The President of NANTS, Ghana, Chief Chukwuemeka Nnaji, said Mrs Stella Ogonna Okpaleke, a mother of three children, committed suicide on Sept. 22 after her shops were locked for failing to meet strict trading conditions put by the Ghana Government.

“She is from Nnewi Local Government (Area) in Anambra; we actually don’t know how much she owed, but we learnt that she took loan for her business,” he said.

He said the harassment on the Nigerian community and traders in Kumasi, Ghana, is so severe and called on Buhari to urgently intervene to avert similar incidents in the future.

In her remark, DabiriErewa appealed to members of the union to remain calm and assured them that the president would intervene in their case to ensure a lasting solution to the problem.

Nigerian traders were shut out of their business premises in line with an eviction order of July 27.

The Ghanaian authority is demanding that traders must have one million dollars as minimum foreign investment capital to do business in Ghana as stipulated in its Ministry of Trade and Industry Act, 2013. (NAN)