Nigerian woman allegedly commits suicide in Ghana

Following the closure of her shops by Ghanaian authorities , a Nigerian woman and mother of three reportedly committed suicide , the National Association of Nigerian Traders , Ghana chapter , reported in Abuja on Tuesday .
The association made the development known when the leadership visited 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 , Chukwuemeka Nnaji , said Mrs . Stella Ogonna Okpaleke , a Nigerian whose shops were locked for her failure to meet strict trading conditions commanded by the Ghana Government , committed suicide on September 22 .

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Nnaji , armed with a petition to Buhari , called for the intervention of the Federal Government over the alleged maltreatment of Nigerian businessmen in Ghana.

“ Regrettably on Saturday , September 22 , one of our female members, Mrs . Stella Ogonna Okpaleke , whose shop has been under lock and key by the Ghana authority , committed suicide .

“ She committed suicide based on her shop and that of her husband that were locked . The information we gathered was that when the authorities locked the shop , she lost hope of having it reopened.

“ She is from Nnewi Local Government Area of Anambra State. We actually don’ t know how much she owed , but we learnt that she took loan for her business , ” Nnaji said .

According to him , the harassment on the Nigerian community and traders in Kumasi , Ghana, is so severe .

“ It is unfortunate that this woman decided to take her own life , ” Nnaji said , and called on Buhari to urgently intervene to avert similar incidents in the future .

He said Nigerian traders were being unnecessarily stressed by Ghanaian authorities .

In her remark , Dabiri – Erewa expressed the Federal Government ’ s condolences to the union and the family of the deceased .

She 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 .

“ I am just going to start by appealing to you . I know it is painful, it is emotional , it is deep , but I just urge you to remain calm .

“ I appeal to you to remain calm and may the soul of Stella rest in perfect peace .

“ When she is about to be buried , let us know so that we may send our condolence message to the family , ” she said .

The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that 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 have $ 1 m as minimum foreign investment capital to do business in Ghana, as stipulated in its Ministry of Trade and Industry Act , 2013 .

( NAN )

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