FOLLOWING the looting and vandalism of a complex belonging to the National Communications Commission ((NCC) in Kano State, the state governor, Abba Yusuf, has declared a 24-hour curfew in the state.
He gave the directive at the Government House, on Thursday, August 1, as part of efforts to contain vandalism and looting trailing the hunger protest in the state.
The governor said, “Based on the power conferred on me by the Constitution of Nigeria as the chief security officer of the state, I have, therefore, declared a 24-hour curfew in the state with immediate effect.”
The ICIR reported that the NCC office in Kano was set ablaze by hoodlums amid hunger protests in the state on Thursday, August 1.
The newly-built office was scheduled for inauguration next week. The office complex was also looted during the incident.
The arsonists and looters were not immediately known when filing this report.
Reacting to the incident, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, described the incident as ‘sad’.
“This building is set to host our buildathon holiday maker programme for secondary school kids, starting next week. A slight setback for our journey to deepen our workforce for technology while creating job opportunities for the youth. Millions of naira down the drain,” Tijani tweeted.
Similarly, the government of Yobe State has declared a curfew in the state for 24 hours.
With this development, the two states have joined Borno State to declare a curfew on the first day of the #EndBadGovernance protest, slated to last for 10 days.
Meanwhile, The ICIR learnt that the Gombe State government is considering declaring a curfew in the state after violence reportedly erupted between protesters and security operatives in the state.
The ICIR reports that a policeman was shot in a clash that broke out between the protesters and a police officer after the officer shot tear gas at the protesters.
The ICIR reports that some protesters have blocked the Keffi-Abuja highway, in Nassarawa State, preventing motorists from plying the road.
Some of the protesters carried placards with the inscriptions: “End bad governance in Nigeria”, and “Bring back fuel subsidy”, among others.
However, some protesters in the Mararaba part of Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa state have turned violent, as reports say that they burnt and looted shops along the express road in the area.
The ICIR further gathered that the protest had begun in Kebbi State and police officers fired tear gas on the demonstrators in the state capital, Brinin Kebbi.
Kehinde Ogunyale tells stories by using data to hold power into account. You can send him a mail at [email protected] (jameskennyogunyale@gmail) or Twitter: Prof_KennyJames