READ FULL STORY

No fewer than three persons were feared killed in Edo and Ondo states when hoodlums attacked #EndSARS protesters demonstrating against police brutality in the country.

In Edo State, apart from the two persons killed when hoodlums attacked the protesters at Ring Road in Benin City, some others sustained varying degrees of gunshot injuries.

One of the deceased persons, identified as Ikpomwosa, sustained several machete cuts before he eventually died. The other person was said to have been taken away from the scene of the attack by friends.

The hoodlums, clad in red T-shirts, were said to have suddenly appeared with guns, cutlasses and other weapons to attack them.

Some of those who had gunshot injuries in the attack were rushed to the nearby Central Hospital, while the body of Ikpomwosa was conveyed in an ambulance and taken to the Government House.

However, the protesters later regrouped after the hoodlums had been chased away.

A 60-year-old protester, Victoria Nkechi, said she came out to support the youths in their protest for good governance.

In Ondo State, tragedy hit the protest in Akure, the state capital, on Thursday evening when a car rammed into the protesters, killing one person and injuring three others.

READ ALSO: Do you want to submit your story to Update Hubs Naija? See here

It was gathered that the incident, which happened in front of the governor’s office, involved a Toyota Camry with number plate, LND 778 GL, and two commercial motorcycles.

An eyewitness said the driver of the vehicle lost control of the car and hit the two motorcycles which hit the protesters. One of the victims was said to have died on the spot while others were rushed to the hospital.

The Public Relations Officer of the Ondo State Police Command, Mr Tee-Leo Ikoro, confirmed that the deceased was one of the #EndSARS protesters, noting that the driver was immediately arrested.

He added, “The family of the deceased have agreed to accept their fate and they have requested for the body for burial. So, they have settled the matter.”

Obaseki condemns attack on ENDSARS protesters

Meanwhile, the Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, who had earlier called for the protection of the protesters by the police, condemned the attack on the protesters by the hoodlums, noting that a thorough investigation would commence immediately to bring the culprits to justice.

The governor, in a statement, added, “I hereby call on the Edo State Police Command to provide adequate security for the protesters and ensure that no one is harassed in the course of exercising their rights.”

Also, the state Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, charged security agencies to fish out the killers of the #EndSARS protesters in the state within 24 hours.

Addressing the protesters at the Kings Square in Benin City, he said the government would not fold its arms and watch harm come the way of young people exercising their rights.

He added, “We are going to give him a state burial because the martyrs of this struggle must be remembered. He will be remembered for being part of this struggle. He is a martyr already and by the grace of God, he will never be forgotten.”

The Peoples Democratic Party in the state, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Chris Nehikhare, also condemned the attack, saying the behaviour of the attackers was disheartening given that the protest was for their benefit. “Their ignorance is frightening and should be an embarrassment to their sponsors.”

In a peaceful procession to the Government House in Benin, some of the protesters carried a coffin with EndSARS written on it.

There were however fears that the protest might be hijacked by cultists with rival gangs threatening to descend on one another.

Protesters block Airport road in Abuja

The #EndSARS protesters on Friday defied the Federal Capital Territory minister’s directive banning protests in the FCT as they shut down the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Road, Abuja.

The mammoth crowd massed at the city gate causing a serious traffic gridlock on the busy highway, which was said to have prevented some travelers from accessing the airport on time to board their flights.

The FCT Security Committee chaired by the FCT Minister, Mohammed Bello, had stopped street rallies which he said violated the COVID-19 protocols. He also directed the security agencies to enforce the directive on the protests, which he said was affecting commercial and economic activities in the nation’s capital.

But the protesters ignored the directive, stating that the FCT Administration had no constitutional power to halt protests in the city.

The protesters were seen moving from the city gate towards the Central Business District where they continued the protest.

Motorists, commuters stranded in Ogun, FCT, others

Meanwhile, motorists and commuters in different parts of the country were stranded on Friday as the protesters blocked major roads.

At the Arepo-Magboro end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the protesters, in their hundreds, carried various placards as they blocked the movement of vehicles on both sides of the busy expressway. Many motorists were stranded for hours.

Some of the placards read, ‘Carrying iPhone, laptop, and wearing dreadlocks is not a crime,’ ‘iPhone no be gun (meaning iPhone is not a gun,’ ‘End police brutality, stop killing our youths,’ and ‘Stop killing our dreams.’

Apart from seeking an end to brutality by the now disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police, the demonstrators also demanded good governance from the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd).

Lamenting the gridlock, a commercial driver, Bashir Olola, said, “I have been stuck between Ibafo and Magboro for more than four hours. I have wasted the day already.”

Many other commuters lamented that they spent hours in traffic and that they might arrive at their destinations late.

Also, on the Abeokuta-Sagamu Road in Abeokuta, the protesters’ action brought vehicular movements to a standstill as motorists and commuters were trapped in the gridlock. Many motorists, commuters and workers were stuck in the traffic.

The protesters were armed with placards bearing different inscriptions like ‘Say No to Police Brutality’.

The protesting youths, who started gathering as early as 6am, took over some other parts of Abeokuta, the state capital, singing solidarity songs. Hip hop artist, Kizz Daniel and Yemi Shodimu, were among the celebrities that participated in the protest. Other locations affected by the protests were Sagamu, Sango-Ota and Ijebu-Ode.

The traffic situation compelled the Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps to release a traffic advisory to motorists and commuters.

In Delta State, hundreds of protesters again stormed the streets of Ughelli, in Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state on Friday, barely one week after a policeman and an unidentified civilian were killed in their earlier protest that turned violent in the metropolis.

The protesters, who returned to the streets in a larger number, declared that their renewed action was in solidarity with other protesters across the country. Private security personnel were seen monitoring the gathering to prevent hoodlums from hijacking it.

In Calabar, the Cross River State capital, the protest continued for the fifth day on Friday with youths carrying various placards condemning police brutality.


The protesters, who had placards with various inscriptions, marched through major streets of Calabar such as Marian Road and Mary Slessor Avenue. The protest disrupted traffic on the roads as motorists had to look for alternative routes.

In Osogbo, the Osun State capital, protesters observed Jumaat service at the popular Olaiya Junction, Osogbo as the protest paralysed business activities across the state capital.

The protesters had blocked Olaiya Junction around 10am and prevented vehicular movement for several hours. Many commuters had to look for alternative routes to avoid the traffic jam. Gunshots were also heard among the protesters, as one of them holding a Dane gun shot into the air.

continue story

God airpus

We shall overcome!!
They must dance to our tune

We are just getting started. Their thugs will disappear by the time we turn on them.

This protest whether Federal Government like it or not, she must responds to protesters because we are saying "enough is enough". We are tired of SARS, This country must move forward.

By now they should have known sending hoodlums to stop protesters is a failed strategy. The protest is a movement and only those who key into it will benefit. Government should key into it.