…As angry Ondo residents block Benin-Ore highway in protest
Protest, on Tuesday, broke out in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, as residents literally poured into the roads and streets over biting scarcity of cash and the attendant excruciating pains.
Aladesanmi, Fajol and Somorin in Obantoko area of Abeokuta were taken over by the protesters, making bonfires and chanting anti-CBN songs.
The Sapon branch of First Bank was also vandalised as the protesters attempted to set it ablaze.
The Ogun Police spokesman, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said officers are monitoring the situation to prevent the destruction of property and loss of lives.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Oyeyemi, said a group of boys is involved, stressing that the Command is studying the protesters to know whether they are Okada riders or not.
Although the police stormed the locations and dispersed the protesters, they regrouped as soon as the operatives withdrew from the scene in greater intensity and made bonfires with disused tires.
The situation disrupted vehicular movement as motorists and pedestrians ran off the road in safe directions to avoid the protesters.
In a related development, hundreds of protesting Edo State Civil Society Organisations (EDOCSO) shut the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Benin branch in Edo State over the scarcity of fuel and new Naira notes.
The protesters also made the dualised and ever-busy Akpakpava Road in Benin where the CBN’s branch is located near the popular Ring Road impassable to commuters many of whom groaned and opted for alternative routes.
EDOCSO members, who were armed with placards and banners bearing anti-CBN inscriptions and chanting anti-government songs, declared they would continue with the peaceful protest until the needful is done.
One of EDOCSO’s leaders, Comrade Omobude Agho, called on the CBN to quickly make the new Naira notes available to end the suffering of Nigerians.
Agho accused CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele of deliberately subjecting Nigerians to untold hardship a few weeks before the general elections.
He insisted that the protesters would remain at the main gate of CBN in Benin, not minding the inconvenience.
Armed security personnel at the CBN resisted the provocative stance of the protesters.
Also on Tuesday, Ondo residents took to the streets to protest the hardship caused by fuel and Naira scarcity.
The angry residents blocked the busy Ore/Benin expressway, causing heavy traffic that lasted for several hours, forcing many travelers to seek alternative routes.