A Chinese-owned supermarket in Nigeria’s capital has been shut down indefinitely, for denying entry to African shoppers.
The supermarket in Abuja “exclusively permits individuals of Chinese descent to enter”, Nigeria’s consumer protection watchdog said on X.
It has summoned the supermarket’s owner.
The supermarket’s owner has not yet commented.
She has been summoned to appear before the consumer protection agency by Wednesday.
The watchdog says that the supermarket will remain closed until she complies with the summons.
The Chinese chamber of commerce in Nigeria has denied the racism allegations.
The supermarket is a tenant in a building run by the China General Chamber of Commerce (CGCC).
Boladale Adeyinka, an official at Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), said that the watchdog had launched an investigation into the allegations.
This follows widespread outrage on social media after some Nigerians shared their experiences of allegedly being turned away by security when they attempted to go to the supermarket.
In one of the videos, a man said he had discovered the supermarket online but was blocked from entering the complex where it is located.
“At the gate, the security people told me that the supermarket is strictly for Chinese people. If you are a Nigerian, you can’t go inside or buy anything,” he said in the clip posted on X, formerly Twitter
The supermarket’s owner has not yet commented.
