Ponmo Sellers Protest Over Arrest Of Members

CHUKA UBAH

There was a twist in the story about the purported discovery of poisonous cow skins, popularly known as ‘Ponmo’, in Lagos as the sellers have debunked such claims describing it falsehood concocted by one of the female importers, Mrs. Esther Gilbert Kanu, who wanted to use it to blackmail and force them to patronize her.

The traders, who were mainly women, carried placards on the streets denouncing the claim with different inscriptions, crying out for help over intimidation and harassment by Mrs. Kanu, who is the Managing Director, Mercy Spring Company, whose office is located at Unity Estate, Taylor Bus Stop in Ijegemo area of Lagos.

P.M.EXPRESS investigation revealed that about 10 women were recently arrested by the operatives of FSARS at Alagbo, aided by Mrs. Kanu, and were detained over allegations of kidnapping, threat to life and armed robbery. But when the police investigated the matter and discovered that it was false, the women were released and allowed to go.

According to the embattled traders, the crux of the matter was that Mrs. Kanu procured tag and forced the dealers to pay N5,000 each across the state which was renewable. They were made to pay other levies before they were allowed to sell the Ponmo and must only buy from her company in the Lagos markets.
However, the traders could not meet up with her demands because she was selling the Ponmo to them at very high prices and they decided to patronize other importers. She then reportedly organized thugs to disrupt and seize their goods while using the police and health workers to blackmail them.

“The other importers including her, import the Ponmo from the same sources and why is it that it was only her own that was adjudged not harmful and was not poisonous as she claimed” the traders asked.

P.M.EXPRESS investigation revealed that the matter was not about poisonous substance but fierce competition among the importers and Mrs. Kanu appeared to be losing her customers to other importers, who she had held and dictated to, over the years and she was not happy about it.
Some of the traders, who abandoned her company for other importers, said that she turned the company into a ministry known as Mercy Spring Liberation Ministry and insisted that every dealer must be a member and not buy Ponmo from other importers.
She was said to have started imposing heavy levies on the traders cut across the state and used the name of Iyaloja to extort the little gain they made from sales. The traders said that they had to move to other importers as it appeared they end up working for her and the war started.
Meanwhile, the fight has moved to the Office of Inspector General of Police following a petition to IGP over the intimidation and harassment by Mrs. Kanu, who insisted that anybody selling Ponmo in Lagos markets must buy from her only or such persons will not be allowed to operate. She was said to have boasted that she had every contact both in the Lagos State government and the Nigeria Police and will always have her way. Mrs. Kanu might be right in that regard because she was said to have a routine of police escorts in her convoy.

When P.M.EXPRESS correspondent contacted her on phone, she declined to speak and promised to get back to our reporter but never did.