In Kumasi the capital city of the Ashanti region in Ghana today ,over 350 shops owned by Nigerian traders was closed down and More than 100 Nigerian traders were reportedly arrested and detained by task force constituted by the Government of Ghana to regulate retail trade.
A Nigerian trader who spoke with CFR Magazine on telephone said the clamp down which began last month has frustrated a lot of Nigerian traders doing legitimate business in Ghana.
When the government began the clamp down in August, they claimed the affected shop owners failed to regularize their business concerns as prescribed by the local law, while those detained didn’t have the necessary documents such as passport, resident permit and work permit.
But, another Nigerian trader in Kumasi region who sent the photos and videos to CFR Magazine on Thursday said the exercise was originally termed a routine inspection of business premises owned by non-Ghanaians to determine whether they were up to date in the payment of taxes but has now culminated in another round of clamp down on shops owned by Nigerians.
“The exercise is targeted at Nigerian. We’re part of the ECOWAS. So why are they doing this? They’ve not entered into any shop owned by the Senegalese and the Togolese who do business here too.
“They said we’re taking over their jobs. Nigerian government needs to wade into this matter and save those in various detention facilities. Since yesterday, they’ve arrested over 100 Nigerians,” he said.
The Inter-Governmental Task Force comprises representatives from 
the National Security, Immigration, the Ministry for Interior, Ghana Standard Authority, Ministry for Trade and Industry, Ghana Police Service and Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA)
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