The rejection of old naira notes (N500 and N1,000) as a legal tender after President Buhari’s address on Thursday has sparked riots across various communities like Ikorodu, Mile 12, Mowe, Mile 1 in Lagos, Ogun and Port Harcourt.
It is pertinent for Nigerians to be vigilant and observant of these hot spots so as to save, protect lives and properties.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the situation created panic among residents of Sabo roundabout.
According to a source, there was shooting as many civil servants and those heading outwards Ikorodu had to make a U-turn for fear of being hit. “Government buses conveying civil servants all turned and returned to Ikorodu? Itowolo is also not safe. Agric, Ikorodu was (sic) unrest a couple of minutes ago. But it looks calm now from where I stand,” the source said.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Police Command has confirmed civil unrest in Ikorodu and some parts of the state owing to the current naira scarcity. This newspaper gathered that a combined security team of men of the Nigerian Army and officers of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) are presently on the ground.
Some Nigerians who were aggrieved with the economic hardship occasioned by the Naira scarcity on Friday staged a protest at Mile 12 area of Lagos State. The hoodlums took over the road, attacking commuters, and the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) vehicles.
POLITICS NIGERIA gathered that police operatives and other security agencies have responded to the unrest. The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Benjamin Hundeyin confirmed the unrest, saying reinforcement has been deployed. He made the confirmation via his verified Twitter handle on Friday morning.
Still in Lagos, angry youths, on Friday, disrupted vehicular movement in several parts of Agege as tension continues to grow over the scarcity of the newly redesigned N500, and N1,000 currency notes. POLITICS NIGERIA reports that civil unrest was witnessed around Oke-Koto, Sofunde and Agbotikuyo areas of Agege. Protesters, majorly youths, blocked main roads and set up bonfires in affected areas.
Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), last December, introduced the new notes amid efforts to fight corruption, terrorism, counterfeiting and related crimes. However, Nigerians have had a hard time getting the new notes amid scarcity and rising tension across the country. Before this morning, there had been violent protests in some states in South-west Nigeria. There were violent protests in Oyo and Ondo states on Wednesday.
An interim order from the Supreme Court of Nigeria restraining the CBN from enforcing its 10 February deadline for the use of the old naira notes seemed not to have worked, as the old N500 and N1,000 notes were being rejected by many individuals and businesses across the country.
Also in Ogun State, riots on Friday spread to communities as youths protested the lingering new naira policy and fuel scarcity. It was gathered that the protesters barricaded the Mowe end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and turned back motorists and travellers. PUNCH’s correspondent gathered that the protesters resisted police intervention and threatened to set the police station in the area ablaze.
The PUNCH also had earlier reported that fighting erupted in some areas on the popular Lagos-Ikorodu expressway in Lagos State over the scarcity of the new naira notes and the hardship the policy has thrown Nigerians into.
There are also unconfirmed reports of chaos at Mile 1 market in Port Harcourt with hoodlums snatching peoples phones, wallets and smashing cars.
Meanwhile the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has warned President Muhammadu Buhari and politicians to desist from pushing the country into anarchy. President of the Congress, Comrade Festus Osifo told reporters that workers could not fold their hands and watch the country destroyed by those who do not mean well for it.
Osifo lamented that Nigeria has never had it so bad, where the people attack banks, strip in banking halls or threaten to commit suicide because they can’t access their money. According to him, “The populace is unable to pay for basic needs including food, medicines, clothes or transportation.
“Workers and indeed mases cannot be used as pons in the hands of politicians. “We do not only hold those in political office responsible for this clear decline into anarchism, but also the politicians who rather than come up with concrete suggestions or try to find a solution, have turned this tragedy into a circus show in which brick bats are thrown, conspiracy theories woven, and accusations made while the people are meant to suffer.
“Nigerians are angry; justifiably so and have shown their anger in several ways, including through protests. Tragically, rather than address the issues or try to assuage their anger, the security services under the Presidency is shooting live bullets at defenceless Nigerians. “The TUC demands that President Muhammadu Buhari and his government put an immediate stop to these shootings and bring the culprits to book.
“Indeed, what can be more criminal than depriving the citizenry of access to their hard earned money thereby starving them and their families, and then turning round to unleash armed security forces on them? “The Presidency and political class must realise that they are pushing the country down the steep slope of anarchism. “Unless they reverse this, they must know that our collective efforts to build a viable and democratic system would be lost; we are very close to the precipice and must act carefully.
“Nigerians unlike the politicians and the wealthy class have nowhere to run to, have no money stacked abroad and have no option than to remain in the country; their interest must be priority one. “Therefore, the TUC, the Labour Movement, professional associations, market associations and social movements have no choice, but to defend the populace and prevent any tragic situation or scenario.
