Blocked sewer line spills sewage into Abuja market

Raw sewage leaking from blocked sewer lines inside Wuse Market in Abuja continues to cause significant concern among traders and visitors.

Abuja Metro reports that the affected lines are located near the market’s vegetable section, as well as several shopping malls and banking facilities.

During a visit to the market yesterday, Abuja Metro spoke with Zubairu Sulaiman, a trader who noted that the issue began roughly a year ago.

He explained that the situation has now defied all intervention efforts by the traders, who previously took it upon themselves to clear the blockages whenever the system deteriorated.

According to Sulaiman, the most recent blockage began two weeks ago.

Abuja Metro learned that following the incident, officials from the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) issued a warning letter to traders in the vicinity, demanding they clear the blockage within two days.

“After receiving the letter, we engaged some youths who usually clean the market to do the work,” Sulaiman said. “They started on Saturday and continued through Sunday and Monday, but the blockage has yet to clear.”

He described the arduous manual process used by the youths, which involves scooping wastewater out with buckets and using flexible pipes to try and dislodge the obstruction.

Another trader, James Ebuka, stated that businesses in the area are losing customers due to the flowing effluent and the accompanying stench.

He accused the Abuja Market Management Limited (AMML)—the agency responsible for the market—of neglecting the issue in favour of an ongoing market expansion project.

“We are praying for them to finish the building project as quickly as possible; perhaps then they will shift their focus toward our problem,” Ebuka said.

In response, the manager of the market, Zubairu Ibrahim, maintained that the faulty sewage lines are not connected to the buildings under his direct jurisdiction. Instead, he claimed the lines belong to certain malls located at the edge of the market.

However, Ibrahim noted that the AEPB has been alerted to the situation and that the board has since “swung into action” to address the problem.

An official from the AEPB, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that the board had received a complaint from the market.

He assured that a permanent solution is currently being worked out to fix the problem.

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