The serene capital of Enugu State, the Coal City, was ruffled on Thursday as protest rocked the city over the high cost of rent in the metropolis.
The protest led by the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) took the demonstrators around some streets in Enugu chanting that high rent is stiffing tenants in the state.
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Carrying placards during the demonstration with various inscriptions, such as “High rent in Enugu, no lawyer fee; high rent in Enugu, no agency fee”; high rent in Enugu, stop legal fee, management, and caution fee; no agency fee, no lawyer’s fee among others, the demonstrators called on the state government to come to their aid.
Speaking to journalists after the protest, coordinator of the event, Kindness Jonah, explained that it was against a hike in rent in Enugu which according to him was getting beyond the reach of the common man.
“By this demonstration today, we are saying that rents in Enugu are too high due to lawyers fee, agency fees and caution feeds,” Jonah said.
“A landlord does not need agency. A landlord does not need a lawyer. A landlord should write his agreement in common English. Go and buy seal in high court and put it there.
“Agree with the tenant and that is how it used to be before but now the lawyers came into the scenario and hiked the rent, so that a landlord whether he needs a lawyer or not will charge lawyers fee and agent fee,” he said and asked the governor to intervene.
“The governor must intervene because this is too much. The House of Assembly should sit up and enact a law to reduce the rent increase.”
The protesters said that in the last six months, some landlords in the state have increased their rent twice with a threat on the tenants to pay or face eviction.
