From Okwe Obi, Abuja, Tony Osauzo and Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin, Jude Owuamanam, Jos, Noah Ebije, Kaduna, Sola Ojo, Abuja. President Bola Tinubu’s appeal to protesters to shelve the ongoing #EndBadGovernance protest, has fallen on deaf ears as thousands of Nigerians took to the street across the country, yesterday, to register their displeasure with the state of the nation......See Full Story>>.....See Full Story>>
On Sunday, President Tinubu appealed to Nigerians to be patient with his administration’s policies, especially with the removal of the fuel subsidy.
A tour of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, 24 hour after the broadcast, showed government offices at the Federal Secretariat complex deserted, with only a few staff members reporting for duty amid huge presence of security personnel.
The protesters have vowed to continue their actions until their demands are met, and the situation remains fluid, with developments unfolding by the hour. As early as 7am, yesterday, they had started assembling. But security agents had to fire teargas to disperse them and calm the situation. “I was shocked when I saw some people gathering at Karu. I thought the gathering was supposed to be in town. The police came and dispersed the protesters with teargas. They arrested about three people that I saw,” Ibrahim Sani, an eyewitness, said.
In a surprising twist, protesters began waving foreign flags, including Russian flags, in various locations in the nation’s capital.Demonstrators holding Russian flags were sighted near the Nyanya bridge, a suburb in Abuja.
A protester, Auwalu Idi, said: “We are raising the Russian flags because we believe Tinubu is playing his masters’ scripts — the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the United States of America.”
Despite police intervention, commercial banks, around the popular checkpoint, a boundary between the FCT and Nasarawa State, remained shut while their customers groaned.
A security man in one of the new generation banks told Daily Sun that the banks in the area have decided to watch the situation to avoid possible attack by miscreants despite the heavy presence of combined security personnel.
In Plateau State, youths defied the 24-hour curfew in Jos and Bukuru metropolis to continue the protest. Residents reported shootings by some miscreants.
It was gathered that the youths had converged on Yan Tyre area, crossing the bridge in Nasarawa to loot provision shops near Terminus market.
Meanwhile, the police have vowed to deal with the protesters.
Commissioner of Police, Emmanuel Adesina, said the command has robustly made deployments to various areas within Jos metropolis and Bukuru to prevent further breakdown of law and order.
He said, in a statement by the police spokesman, Alfred Alabo, that an intelligence report at their disposal suggested hoodlums were planning to cause mayhem.
He said there was glaring evidence that the miscreants were at the verge of hijacking the peaceful protest to massively loot shops within the commercial nerve of the state.
In a statement by Gyang Bere, director of Press and Public Affairs to Governor Caleb Mutfwang on Sunday in Jos, the government said the move was to enhance the security of lives and maintain public order.
“Governor Mutfwang has imposed a 24-hour curfew on Jos-Bukuru metropolis, effective from 12 midnight on Sunday, August 4, 2024.
“Mutfwang, in consultation with state security agencies, took this decision after reviewing the actions of unscrupulous individuals who exploited the nationwide protest to unleash terror on innocent citizens.
“The governor noted that these criminal elements, armed with daggers, machetes, and other dangerous weapons, broke into shops and restaurants on Bauchi Road and Zololo Junction in Jos North local government areas, looting foodstuffs and other valuable items.
“Mutfwang emphasised that the curfew is in the best interest of all citizens and urged everyone to comply fully to ensure the safety and well-being of all residents,” the statement said.
•Kaduna imposes curfew
Following hijacking of protest by suspected hoodlums in Kaduna which led to destruction of public property like banks and buildings, the state government has imposed a 24-hour curfew on Kaduna and Zaria metropolis.
Daily Sun gathered that as early as 10am, a large crowd of protesters occupied major highways in Kaduna city centre. They were said to have broken into two commercial banks in Tudun area of Kaduna, while the secretariat of Sabon Gari Local Government Area in Zaria was torched.
Several motorists were seen with green leaves attached to their vehicles in solidarity with the protesters. Imposing the curfew, Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, in a statement, said: “Kaduna State Security Council imposes a 24-hour curfew on Kaduna and Zaria metropolitan cities
“The Kaduna State Security Council under the leadership of Governor Uba Sani, following a review of the security situation in the state, hereby notifies citizens of the following:
“There is sufficient evidence to clearly indicate that the ongoing protest has been hijacked by criminal elements who have resorted to looting of shops and destruction of private and public property.
“In view of this unfortunate development, the Kaduna State Security Council has unanimously resolved to impose a 24-hour curfew on Kaduna and Zaria metropolises and environs with immediate effect. Citizens are advised to remain indoors while security forces continue to work to maintain safety and security. Monitoring will be sustained for review of the curfew as required.”
•Protesters return to Gani Fawehinmi Park, Lagos
Protesters in Lagos State, yesterday, returned to the Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota, for the fifth day after they were attacked by suspected hoodlums on Sunday.
Before they began the event of the day, they observed a minute silence for lives lost to the protest nationwide.
Thereafter, the protesters entered what they called ‘Congress by Protesters’, led by Hassan Soweto, where they briefed the gathering and newsmen on the event nationwide. Soweto denied they had suspended the protest as claimed by some people whom the organisers described as agents to destabilise the protest.
He said the protest would continue because President Bola Tinubu failed to address their demands, particularly the reduction in fuel, electricity and food prices.
The protesters called for the sacking of the Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, for casualties recorded so far during the protest.
Soweto said they were fighting for the public interest, stressing they should not be seen as agents against the state.
“We don’t want a dialogue with the president, but we want him to meet our demands. We have not sent anyone to represent us at the presidency for dialogue. Those who briefed the newsmen that the protest had been suspended are not members of the groups,” he said.
Egbetokun was present at the park as more police personnel stood to provide security.
•Move to major streets in Osun
In Osun State, the protesters moved from the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park in Osogbo to some major streets across the town.
The protesters moved from the park at about 10.05 a.m. to Igbonna Market, Aiyetoro Stadium and other locations before converging on Olaiya Bridge.
The situation led to gridlock of vehicular movements with motorists looking for alternative routes.
However, the intervention of security personnel assisted in making the roads accessible, while also ensuring the protection of lives and property.
Security agencies on duty include the Nigeria Police, the Department of State Security, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and the Federal Road Safety Corps.
Others are the Nigeria Immigration Service and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
One of the protesters, Akin Ashafat, said the government had yet to address protesters’ demands, hoping something would be done soon.
Ashafat, an activist, also known as Government, said the protest would, therefore, continue until all the demands were met for the best interest of Nigerians.
He called on the president to take quick action by ‘walking his talk’ to the protesters’ demands rather than seeking dialogue, which he claimed might not yield any tangible result.
Also, Segun Oyewale, the spokesperson of the Coalition of Concerned Nigerian Citizens in Osun, urged the government to take practical steps toward resolving the demands.
Oyewale called for a price control mechanism to regulate prices of food commodities, and the provision of scholarships instead of student loans offered by the Federal Government.
According to him, the president should reduce the price of petroleum and check the nation’s inflation.
•Hoodlums barricade roads, banks shut in Benin
Suspected hoodlums, yesterday, barricaded some roads in Benin and its outskirts, in defiance of government order that roads should not be blocked, even as some protesters continued their protest in some parts of the state capital and promising to be on the road for 10 days before they would re-strategize for the next line of actions.
Many businesses, including banks, remained shut, yesterday, for fear of attack by suspected hoodlums.
Specifically, banks and most shops and offices on Airport Road, Ekehuan Road, Sapele Road, Sakponba Road and environs were shut.
Generally, business activities are gradually picking up in major parts of Benin. At Oregbeni Market in Ikpoba Hill, business activities were in upward swing as traders were seen selling to their customers.
Mutari Abdullahi, a pop corn seller, said he is very happy that normalcy is gradually returning to the state.
He said while the protest was on, the little money he saved had been exhausted and that with the opening of the market, he was sure of making some money from his sales.
Abudullahi appealed to those spearheading the protest to have a rethink and call it off, saying dialogue still remains the best way of resolving conflict.
He acknowledged that the protest has been very peaceful but stressed that an end to it will be better.
Another trader, who deals in second hand clothing, said she is happy business activities are picking up but pleaded with the Federal Government to heed to the demands of the protesters.
At the Ring Road axis, an Armed Personnel Carrier (APC) was stationed at the Central Bank of Nigeria with military personnel on standby to ward off any form of violence attack on the facilities of the apex bank.
As policemen went through Sapele Road to the bypass to clear the road blocks, suspected hoodlums mounted roadblocks around Upper Mission from Teboga Junction and extorted motorists.
Areas blocked by suspected hoodlums were parts of TV Road and Egba Junction after the bypass on the Benin-Auchi road.
In an apparent move to check what happened on Ekehuan Road on Sunday, where suspected hoodlums took over the road, soldiers were, yesterday, stationed at Erediauwa Junction, Asoro Bus Stop and other areas on the road to prevent the road from being blocked.
One of the leaders of the protesters, Omobude Agho, described President Bola Tinubu’s Sunday broadcast as hollow, saying: “We are still in the street because this protest is for 10 days, it is a warning protest, 10 days warning protest.
“Afterwards, the protest will go to the next level so we have only done four days and today is the fifth day and we must continue. Though some government officials tried to infiltrate the protest so that they can discredit it and a lot of persons are being misled so we want to rekindle the spirit of Nigerians to wake and say their right is their right, they must come out and fight for it because if we don’t get it now, we will never get it again because this is worst time in our life as Nigerians.
“The president did not say anything, we only heard his voice, we only saw his mouth moving, but nothing came out of it. If he made a speech we would have since relaxed but he rather came to insult the sensibilities of the majority of Nigerians. By now, we all should be fully convinced we are in a clueless regime, completely clueless system.
“They have militarised everywhere, soldiers are everywhere that is why we went to start our protest from where they are. The soldiers are militarising our democratic space,” he said.