By Amechi Ogbonna and Christopher Oji
Two persons were killed and many injured when pandemonium erupted in Lagos, Ogun and Ondo states on Friday owing to the scarcity of naira notes.
The protest, which started from Lagos, escalated to Ogun State along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. It claimed two lives and injured many.
In Lagos, many banks were attacked, especially at Lekki and Ajah areas of the state.
The crisis started in the popular Mile 12 Market, Lagos when some traders rejected old Naira notes from customers. The customers took to the streets when they failed to convince the traders that the case was in the court and that the state government had instructed that people should continue to trade with old Naira notes.
The protesters were said to have barricaded the roads with used tyres to make bonfire. The protest spread like wile fire as it escalated to Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ojota, Ketu, Lekki, Ajah, Agege, Idimu, Egbeda, Iyana Ipaja, and other nearby communities in Ogun State.
Following the protesters, many vehicles whose drivers refused to make a detour as directed by the protesters had their windshield smashed.
At Ajah and Lekki, many banks were attacked. At the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the rioters made up of young men armed with clubs and other dangerous weapons rained abuses on President Muhammadu Buhari for his bad governance, especially the new naira policy that has halted economic activities across the country. They were throwing stones and chatting anti Buhari songs.
For over two hours, no security men came around to clear the mob. Meanwhile the gridlock caused by the development has already spilled into adjoining streets and Magboro and Mowe in Ogun State
However, a contingent of soldiers from OP Messa and policemen were deployed to the areas to disperse the protesters.
Many people were injured during a stampede when the security agencies threw teargas canisters at the protesters and shot into the air to scare the protesters. Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said normalcy has returned to the area.
However, at Sango Ota, Ogun State, market women joined the protest, while at Mowe, two persons were killed during an exchange of gunfire between soldiers and hoodlums. One of the victims was a commercial bus driver, while the other’s identity was not yet known.
The protesters were seen shouting: “We have money, but we can’t spend it, but the government and politicians have everything to their disposal while we the poor people are going through hell”.
Many passengers were stranded at the bus stops while those travelling out of Lagos turned back.
Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), in charge of Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, Lagos comprising Lagos and Ogun states, Mr. Abiodun Alabi said adequate security has been deployed not only to the banks but other financial institutions. “It is our duty to protect lives and property which we have done,” he said. In Ondo State, some residents of Ore in Odigbo Local Government Area on Friday blocked the busy Ore-Benin expressway to register their displeasure over the scarcity of naira notes. The protesters made bonfire on both sides of the expressway, making it impossible for vehicular movement, which has also resulted to heavy gridlock on the axis.
Some of the protesters, who spoke in separate interviews, said that they were protesting over the naira notes scarcity, which they claimed was taking a toll on them and their families. They also lamented their inability to access cash from banks’ Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and were not allowed into the banking halls.
Mr. Kayode Akinbola, one of the protesters said: “This is indeed a hard time for us, the naira scarcity is taking a toll on me and my family, and this protest is to demonstrate that we are not happy over this situation.”
Mr Rotimi Akinluwa, another protester said the inability to access his money through the banks’ ATMs and banking halls was so frustrating. “I have my money in the bank and I can not get it, even the Point of Sales (PoS) operators no longer have the cash even if you want to buy. This is so frustrating,” he said.
Another protester, Mr. Bummi Adewole described President Buhari’s nationwide broadcast on Thursday as “the most frustrating one as he refused to heed to the yearnings of the masses in his broadcast.”
“Buhari said they should re-circulate the N200 old notes, how many people will this satisfy? In fact there is no solution on the way at all and the problem continues,” Adewole said. ASP Funmilayo Odunlami, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ondo State Command, said that police personnel from Ore Police Area Command were “on top of the situation to arrest any breakdown of law and order.”