Newspaper stands in Awka, Anambra State, were on Monday a ghost of themselves, with free readers stranded at various newspaper selling points following an indefinite strike embarked upon by vendors in the state.

The strike came on the heels of alleged harassment by officials of Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra State, a.k.a OCHA Brigade.

To this end, about 5,000 newspaper copies sent to Awka today are left unsold. The undistributed and unsold newspaper copies, according to News Express investigations, include Daily Sun, 800; Vanguard, 500; The Nation, 300; The Oracle, 200; ThisDay, 150; and The PUNCH, 100.

Addressing newsmen on the development, the Acting Chairman of Nigeria Distributors Association, Awka chapter, Mr Emeka Nweze, lamented that OCHA officials have continued to harass, intimidate and extort their members.

He said: “Often times they come and cart away our tables and umbrellas and even the newspapers. When the former boss OCHA Brigade was there we went and complained and he apologised to us and even used their vehicle to return our things, saying that they have no problem with vendors. But this new man came and they started again to deal with our members; they said we should go and get shops in the market and we ask, ‘is it only here that vendors operate?’

“In fact, last Thursday, they came and did the worst; they came with machetes and cut our tables and seats into pieces, destroyed our umbrellas and newspapers, threatening to arrest and detain our members.”

According to Nweze, the distributors had earlier written a petition to the state government through the Secretary to Anambra State Government (SSG), copied to the Commissioner of Police, the State Director, DSS and the Commissioner of Information.

Though he said that they are yet to receive any response, the government agency had continued to maltreat them.

The petition, signed by Nweze and the Association’s Secretary, Ifeanyi Nwafor, reads in part: “Newspaper Distributors and vendors have been passing through nightmare in the hands of the officials of OCHA Brigade for a long time.

“The officials have been clamping down on our members, intimidating and harassing us, seizing the items we use in the display of our newspapers and at times extort money from us. The items of our members in the custody of the agency since more than three months include; five tables and four umbrellas worth N70,000.”

The association further vowed to stop its members from distributng newspapers and magazines in the city until the state government is able tp assure them of their safety in the state.

Some of the regular newspaper readers described the situation as strange for newspaper vendors to embark on strike judging from thr kind of servicr they render to the public.

They called on government to intervene in the matter.

A regular free reader at St Faith Anglican Church junction, Mr. Ikechukwu Orji, said: “I came out thus morning as usual to read newspaper only to discover that the entire newspaper stands along Zik Avenue were abandoned. Vendors going on strike in this state? This is unbelievable. What haven’t our eyes seen in this country?”

Though efforts to reach the head of the OCHA Brigade did not yield any result, the state Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr C-Don Adinuba, has promised to take up the matter with the head with a view to resolving the crisis immediately.