Three people killed in violence over new naira crisis, banks also burned
Three people killed in violence over new naira crisis, banks also burned
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The growing anger over the cash crisis resulting from the Central Bank of Nigeria currency redesign policy boiled over on Wednesday as protesting customers torched banks and destroyed Automated Teller Machines in Edo and Delta states.
The violence, which paralysed social and economic activities in the two states, also claimed three lives while many others were injured during the riot.
The protests equally spread to Oyo, Ondo, Benue and Kwara states as residents vented their anger over the scarcity of cash which had made life unbearable for many Nigerians.
Trouble started in Benin, the Edo State capital after the bank customers besieged the state branch of the CBN at 9, Akpapakva Road to lodge their old naira notes around 8 am.
Findings indicated that the people were calm as they waited at the gate for the officials to attend to them.
However, at some minutes to 10 am, a Hilux van carrying some officials attempted to enter the premises but the people stopped it in the belief that it was there to convey new naira notes.
The police officers guarding the office appealed to the people to allow the vehicle to access the premises but they were adamant and attempted to invade the premises.
The restive bank customers threw stones and sticks at the vehicle and in an attempt to disperse the crowd, the police mistakenly shot a male customer dead, further inflaming the protesters.
At 11.45 am, our correspondent also observed two corpses, one in Upper Sakponba and the other in Uselu, but the circumstances of their death were not clear.
However, the development led to an all-out offensive from the protesters who attacked nearly all the banks along the Akpkakpkava Road.
They also stormed the Sterling Bank, UBA, GTB, Access, Zenith, Stanbic IBTC and others destroying their ATMs and buildings with stones.
The rioters later took over the Ring Road and were throwing stones at anything in sight.
Banks attacked
At Upper Sakponba, they attacked the UBA and destroyed a part of the bank as the workers fled the premises.
The Third Junction was also blocked while motorists and a police team were prevented from accessing the Upper Sakponba area.
To restore peace and order in the metropolis, soldiers and policemen were quickly dispatched to the crisis zones and the custodial centre to prevent a jailbreak.
Also, members of the Edo State Security Network and vigilantes paraded the street, dismantling the roadblocks set up by the protesters in different parts of the city.
In Warri, Delta State, youths protesting the rejection of the old naira notes razed several vehicles parked in front of First Bank Plc, Access Bank and Union Bank branches located in the Orovwohworun area of the Udu.
Scene of the Warri attack
As early as 9 am, the bank customers started arriving in the area which became crowded within a short time.
But they grew restive after waiting for some time without being attended to by the bank officials.
They became uncontrollable and set fire to vehicles parked in front of the banks.
No fewer than four vehicles were razed by the protesters in and around the Udu Express Junction and Ovwian area of Udu.
The PUNCH gathered that the protesters, who comprised mainly tricycle and motorcycle commercial operators, similarly attacked the ATM points before setting the banking halls on fire.
The mob blocked a section of the road before torching Access Bank and other banks.
One of the protesters who did not disclose his identity said, “We are hungry and we are in a cash dilemma. No new naira notes and they are rejecting the old ones. People cannot eat, do business, we are hungry and people are dying and they are still saying politics.”
Also, a fuel station in the area was set on fire for rejecting the old notes.
There was tension following heavy gunshots fired by soldiers and policemen drafted to protect banks in Udu, Effurun and Warri.
The Police Public Relations Officer for the Delta State Command, Bright Edafe could not be reached for comment on the incident as of the time of filing this report.
Oyo protesters
In Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, as early as 7 am, protesters started barricading the major roads to protest the naira and fuel crises in the state.
They also blocked the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, grounding vehicular movements and commercial activities.
Our correspondent observed that the youth mounted roadblocks at the Iwo Road, Agodi Gate axis, Challenge, Olorunsogo, and Academy areas.
Other areas that were locked down included the state secretariat, Poly Road, Sango, Mokola, Dugbe, Orita Challenge, Beere, Total Garden, Bodija Oju’rin, Eleyele, Ologuneru, Gbopa and Apete, all within Ibadan North, Ibadan North West and Ido Local Government Areas of the state.
The PUNCH reports that a similar protest which rocked the city on February 3, was hijacked by suspected miscreants who set ablaze a police station and stole the station’s plasma television set.
They vandalised a branch of Wema Bank in the area and looted some roadside shops.
Banks, public and private schools, shops and companies hurriedly shut down for fear of being attacked.
A protester stated, “I have never experienced this kind of frustration in my life, and I want to believe that the people in government are doing this intentionally. They have their target. They wanted to add to our suffering so that we will not come out during the election, but they have failed.’’
Motorists expressed worries over the development. Mr Dapo Adedeji said he was on his way to Lagos from Osogbo when he met the youth on the Iwo Road and they asked him to turn back.
He said, “I first met them at Iwo road, and they sent me back so I followed other vehicles to Old Ife road. Luckily, I was able to get to this place (Olorunsogo) but these guys are radicals because they were carrying sticks and almost broke my windscreen but I quickly reversed.’’
“This is getting serious and the government should do something. The last time I experienced this kind of thing was during the EndSARS (protests). They shouldn’t allow things to get to that level again,” he added.
Similarly, Ayorinde Taiwo said he had been waiting for the roadblocks to be removed from the road for over three hours.
Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress in the state has accused the state Governor, Seyi Makinde, and the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party of masterminding the protest.
A statement by the APC Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, on Wednesday, said, “There are all indications that the pockets of protest being witnessed in some major parts of Ibadan were coordinated and sponsored by the PDP government in the state with a view to frustrating the presidential rally of APC which was moved from Tuesday last week and rescheduled for tomorrow (Thursday) as it became imperative for us to act in the mood of the nation.’’
Ondo protesters
Scores of commercial motorcyclists took to the streets of Akure, the Ondo State capital and some other towns in the state in protest against the scarcity of the new naira notes and rejection of the old currencies by commercial banks.
Some of the protesters in Akure
The protesters barricaded the Oba Adesida Road at the popular First Bank Roundabout Alagbaka area, chanting various solidarity songs and causing traffic logjam for hours.
Panicked by the gathering, which was less than 500 metres from the Akure branch of the CBN, the banks in the area swiftly shut their doors.
In Owo town, youths and market women also staged a protest, blocking all the major roads and halting vehicular movements.
They also visited the palace of the Olowo to present their grievances to the traditional ruler.
The Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Ogunoye, appealed to them to be peaceful and avoid any action that could cause a breakdown of law and order in the ancient community.
The monarch said, “This is, no doubt, a trying period in the life of the people of Nigeria and I want to appeal to you not to do anything that will break the law and disrupt the peace of the town.”
Like their counterparts in other locations, youths of Otukpo town in Benue State thronged the federal highway along Otukpo/Enugu roundabout to protest the scarcity of fuel and new naira notes.
They blocked the highway with bonfires, leaving many commuters stranded for several hours.
The police spokesperson in the state, Catherine Anene, could not be reached for comment but police sources said the youth were later dispersed.
Similarly, there was a riot in Ilorin, Kwara State on Wednesday following the rejection of old naira notes by traders and commercial vehicle operators.
The protests started from the Oko-Olowo market axis and spread to Oloje, Alore, Omoda and Adangba, Gambari, Gama, Offa motor park, Kilanko, Geri Alimi, Yakuba and Kwara Polytechnic axis of the Ilorin metropolis.
Motorists deserted the roads as disused tyres were set on fire while commuters were stranded.
Trouble started at the Oko-Olowo market at 10 am on the outskirts of the state capital after a disagreement over the rejection of the old naira notes.
Also at Yakuba/Kwara Polytechnic/University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, three taxi cabs were vandalised while no fewer than five tricycles were damaged following a brawl between the commercial vehicle operators and some youths over the rejection of the old notes by the drivers.
The situation was, however, brought under control by the state police command which drafted its men to the various flashpoints.
The state police command confirmed the arrest of five persons.
A statement by the Kwara State Command spokesman, Okasanmi Ajayi, said the Commissioner of Police in the state, Paul Odama, had ordered aggressive motorised and foot patrols of the metropolis.
In his reaction, the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu- Gambari, expressed worry about the current situation and called for calm and perseverance.
“I have said on several occasions that the Ilorin Emirate is known for harmony, let us resist all forms of temptations. Governments at all levels are working assiduously towards ensuring that the hardship is curtailed. Let us remain peaceful and together, we shall overcome this hard time,” the Chairman of the Kwara state traditional council appealed.
The state governor, Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, urged the people to remain calm, saying, “we’re in this together.”
In Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the police fired several tear gas canisters to disperse the hundreds of depositors who thronged the CBN branch located along Udo Udoma Avenue, to lodge their old naira notes.
The incident caused a stampede as the bank customers fled to escape the toxic smoke.
Justifying the police action, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Odiko Macedon, explained that the policemen were deployed at the scene when the crowd was becoming riotous.
He said “Today (Wednesday), there was a large crowd in the CBN vicinity and the crowd was becoming rowdy and it was almost becoming riotous. So, the police as an agency saddled with the responsibility of maintaining law and order cannot fold their arms and allow a breakdown of law and order.
“So, the Commissioner of Police, Olatoye Durusinmi, in his wisdom, deployed officers and men to restore law and order, and that is exactly what happened. Nobody was harassed, or molested; nothing untoward happened.”
