The Chairman of the Ladipo Central Executive Auto Dealers Association, Kingsly Ogunor, said the government gave them less than 24 hours to vacate the premises or watch their goods being bulldozed.

Ogunor said he was unable to alert all the traders in the market before the bulldozers arrived on Tuesday.

Several roofs have been removed from shops, but the demolition proper would start on Wednesday.

On Tuesday morning, the local government task force, aided by armed policemen, stormed the market and embarked on the demolition.

Many traders were alerted by their neighbours.

When they dashed to the market, however, they discovered that their shops had been locked by the officials.

Traders were prevented from accessing their shops.

Ogunor said: “It was only yesterday the local government officials said they will come.

“There was no prior notification to the planned demolition of shops.

“How could the entire traders relocate their goods in the market in less than 24 hours?”

Ogunor said there was no doubt Mushin Local Government Area was the landlord with 60 per cent of the market land, while the remaining 40 per cent belonged to a family.

He said: “But the right thing would be to have a roundtable discussion and see that both parties have a mutual agreement.

“To embark on this manner of demolition obviously would affect the traders.”

One of the importers, who gave his name as Samuel Chukwudi, said before building shops by traders, the area was a swamp and inaccessible.

Chukwudi said: “It was around 1996 and 1997 that some Igbo traders gathered themselves together to clear the area and do auto business here.

“The Lagos State Government and Mushin Local Government have been collecting tax running into millions of naira from us here.

“The Lagos Waste Management Authority has also been collecting waste disposal fee from the traders.

“Former Governor Babatunde Fashola once closed up this place because of sanitation issues and we resolved that.

“To come to the market early this morning and see roofs of our shops removed with bulldozers and policemen gathered in front of the gate without notification is unjust and we shall not fold our hands and see our means of livelihood destroyed.”

Ifeanyi Njoku, a spare parts trader, said: “When they do this, they will send a lot of people to the village while those remaining must survive by all means.”

Some of the traders marched to Mushin Local Government Area headquarters on Palm Avenue.