…peaceful in Edo, several other states
…4 reported dead in Niger, 2 in Jigawa, 2 lawyers injured in Delta
…Kano Gov imposes 24-hour curfew as protesters loot NCC Industrial Park
Protests staged across the country by civil society groups on Thursday to draw the Federal Government’s attention to marked discomforts being experienced by the larger populace came with a mixed bag as they kicked off peacefully in some areas but turned violent in others, necessitating curfews in some areas.
Tagged ‘#EndBadGovernance’, the protests scheduled to carry on for 10 days have been brewing for a while, with governments at different levels appealing that the organisers reconsider their stand and fearing that things may go awry, citing the #EndSARS protest of October 2020.
The protests come against the backdrop of hardships on the back of the withdrawal of the troublesome fuel subsidy regime and the free float of the national currency, the naira, by the Federal Government at the inception of the President Bola Tinubu administration in May 2023.
When the protests began on Thursday morning, they were largely peaceful.
In Benin City, the Edo State capital, the protest was peaceful and orderly. Civil society groups gathered at the Kings Square, while teams of policemen kept watch.
The protesters wore black and white T-shirts with the inscription “Civil Society Management Team” and carried placards that screamed “Say No To Bad Governance” and “End Bad Governance”.
Some of the protesters were heard expressing fears that miscreants and mischief makers might attempt to hijack the stand-up.
Moving around Benin City Between 7am and 8.0 am on Thursday, our reporters observed a marked lull in motor traffic flow and although commercial buses were available, there was a noticeable decline in the number of taxis on the streets compared to that time on a typical work day.
Also, in neighbourhoods around Ring Road, as well as Ekehuan Road and the Airport Road axis, bands of residents gathered, apparently to observe the mood of the day and exchange views about the protest. Their discussions tended to dwell on rising cost of living and security concerns.
Along these routes, early-riser businesses, including fuel stations, banks, building materials stores and larger retail stores among others, stayed firmly shut. Some neighbourhood food canteens opened tentatively, keeping an eye out for the mood on the streets.
Along Ekehuan and Akpakpava Roads, commercial banks including First Bank, GTBank, Union Bank, Zenith Bank EcoBank, Keystone Bank, Polaris Bank, Access Bank and others remained closed. Security personnel at some of the banks told customers that while the banking halls were unlikely to open, the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) points might be opened to already milling customers later in the day, following security observation. That did not happen.
But in some states, as the protests gathered momentum, the protesters turned violent.
In Suleja, Niger State, at least four people were reportedly killed while several others sustained injuries as security operatives struggled to disperse protesters who erected barricades on a section of the Abuja-Kaduna Highway, trapping many passengers and motorists for hours.
Some miscreants also reportedly set ablaze some parts of the Tafa Local Government Area located in Sabon Wuse, Niger State.
Confirming the incident to Channels Television, the Commissioner of Police, Niger State Command, Shawulu Danmamman, said the criminals who had vandalised and looted some properties belonging to the local government were arrested along Abuja-Kaduna Road.
In Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, the chairman, James Thomas, imposed a dusk-to-dawn (6pm to 6am) indefinite curfew on the area in order to restore calm after the protest turned violent in the area, resulting in destruction, looting, stealing, highway blockade, and vandalism in the Mararraba area, the border between Nassarawa State and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Also in Nasarawa State, police dispersed protesters in Lafia, the state capital, after some of them began burning tyres and destroying vehicles.
In the FCT Abuja, the Nigerian military took over the popular AYA-Kubwa Highway, which gives access to Gwarimpa and leads to other parts of Northern Nigeria, after protesters, made up mostly of street urchins and criminals, started blocking and molesting motorists on service lanes of the 10-lane highway, and subsequently extended the heinous trade to the centre of the road by blocking it and making bonfires, stopping motorists and extorting money from them.
In Lagos, policemen tear-gassed defiant #EndBadGovernance protesters at the Lekki Tollgate on Thursday morning.
In Jigawa, two persons were reportedly killed while many others sustained injuries after police fired live ammunition and teargas to disperse protesters.
In Katsina, protesters invaded former President Muhammadu Buhari’s residence in Daura, Katsina State. They blocked the road linking Mai’adua-Daura and Katsina as they protested against bad governance.
In Delta, suspected thugs reportedly brutalised and wounded two lawyers, Barristers Omes Ogedegbe and Dafe Avwunufe, during the protest. The incident, which occurred at the DSC Roundabout in Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State, took the intervention of military personnel to save the lawyers from being killed.
Protests likewise turned violent in Hadejia, Jigawa State. In Dutse, the state capital, the protesters who marched to the Government House were dispersed.
In Kano State, Governor Abba Yusuf declared a 24-hour curfew across the state following the looting of the newly built Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Industrial Park in Kano City by hoodlums.
Speaking on the conduct of the protests earlier, human rights lawyer Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa on Thursday berated security agents for “provoking” peaceful #EndBadGovernance protesters across the country.
In a statement, the lawyer to one of the organisers of the protests, The Take It Back Movement, warned that confrontation by security agents could escalate the protests and cautioned the men in uniform to be professional.
“The situation has so far been largely peaceful, especially in Lagos and Abuja. Pockets of skirmishes in some parts of the nation were said to be due mainly to the provocation of the security agencies. Notwithstanding that, the protests were largely successful, well coordinated and on target,” Adegboruwa said.
Additional reporting by Chuks Oluigbo
