Following claims of discriminatory tactics against Nigerians, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission closed the Chinese store in Abuja, which is housed within the China General Chamber of Commerce in Abuja.
When the FCCPC authorities invaded the premises on Monday, they closed the grocer. Following their questioning of the Nigerian employees of the supermarket, representatives of the commission locked up the area. This came to light when store employees responsible for facilities revealed that the supermarket’s owner had left the area.
When Commission representatives raided the supermarket on Monday, the workers—the majority of whom were Nigerians—stated as much.
According to the employees, Cindy Liu Bei, the Chinese owner of the supermarket, and her family left on Monday at 8:26 a.m., as seen on the closed-circuit television camera.
The supermarket was then shut down by FCCPC officials. Nigerians were not allowed to shop at the supermarket because of a contentious policy that only allowed Chinese nationals admission. This information was exclusively revealed on Sunday.
Social media users expressed their outrage at the unfair treatment of Nigerians, leading to a general condemnation of this policy.
However, during their Monday visit, commission representatives under the direction of Boladale Adeyinka, the Director for Surveillance and Investigation, stated that the commission’s goal is in response to the widely shared video that purportedly showed Nigerians being turned away from an Abuja supermarket and subjected to discrimination.
Speaking after the conclusion of the enforcement operation, Adeyinka confirmed that Cindy Liu Bei, the supermarket’s owner, escaped with her family on Monday at 8:26 a.m., as seen on the closed-circuit television camera.
“Verifying the claims and the content of that viral video is the main goal of the surveillance and investigation that we carried out today,” she stated. “When we got there, we saw that the supermarket, which is directly behind me, had an external padlock and was secured.
Yes, according to inquiries, since this morning this supermarket was open and there were individuals present.
CCTV footage also reveals that two cars that are purportedly driven by the supermarket’s owner—whom we are able to positively identify by name and for whom we have contact information—left these same premises early in the morning.
She also gave the owner until the commission tribunal to attend, failing which the compound would stay sealed. Given that she isn’t present and the location is secured, the summons is intended to serve as notice for her appearance before the federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission by Wednesday.
If she doesn’t respond to this summons, other regulatory mechanisms will be used. Since they can only access it by seeing the summons, entering these premises requires them to do so, the summons stated.
She went on to say that should the Chinese owner neglect to respond to the summons, which is a legitimate investigation, the commission’s mandate under its authority will seal the property until she appears before the commission, meaning that the location will be sealed until she does. The supermarket was then sealed by FCCPC officers.
