…Police confirm several arrests, warn against further destruction
BY MIKE OSAROGIAGBON
Benin City, Nigeria – After several hours of denying killings during Wednesday protests against scarcity of naira in Benin City, the Edo State capital, the police on Thursday admitted taking the lives of two protesters while responding to the civil disturbances.
The police admittance was conveyed in a statement made available to Journalists in Benin by the spokesman for Edo State Police Command, SP Chidi Nwabuzor.
It would be recalled that Nwabuzor had, on Wednesday denied knowledge of killings during the protests in the state capital when contacted by Journalists to confirm the number of casualties which was then put at three by news media reports.
Rather he contended that those videos trending on social media about the killings were those of #EndSars recirculated to mislead members of the society by mischief makers.
His words: “The videos you are referring to that have been trending on social media are that of ugly incident during #EndSars.
“I don’t know what they want to gain by recirculating it today,” SP Nwabuzor stated.
Though the police did not disclose identities of their victims, they however stated that those killed were hit by strayed bullets around the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Akpakpava road, Benin City.
The videos that trended on various social media platforms Wednesday revealed two young men soaked in their own blood as one was being conveyed in a wheelbarrow by the protesters.
Another man in his prime age was also seen in the video being dragged up after he may have been brought down by a bullet around CBN, Akpakpava Road, Benin City.
Nwabuzo said the following in his statement today: “The protest was sparked by the Central Bank Naira redesign policy, which resulted in a large number of youths taking to the streets to demand new Naira notes and the collection of old notes by the banks.
“Unfortunately, the protest, which was hijacked by armed hoodlums, turned violent when the armed hoodlums attempted to attack and gain access into the Benin branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria but security personnel on duty responded promptly to the hoodlums, and in the process, two of them were hit by stray bullets and were confirmed dead on arrival to the hospital.”
The police warned against further acts of violence stating that some of the hoodlums were arrested and would be arraigned soon.
SP Nwabuzor stated that the hoodlums capitalized on the protests to attack, destroy, loot banks and private property in Benin City.
“The armed hoodlums who capitalized on the protests attacked, looted, and destroyed several banks and private properties in the state capital.
“Banks such as UBA, First Bank, Access Bank, Unity Bank, Keystone Bank, Eco Bank, FCMB, Polaris and Zenith Bank were affected, and properties such as ATM machines, windows, generator batteries, and vehicles were vandalized and looted”, the police noted.
Meanwhile, our checks around Benin City revealed that most of the residents suffered untold hardship as no bank was seen open to customers today.
Few ATM that survived Wednesday’s aggression, were not loaded with cash due to possible resurgence of the violence.
Alerts of fund transfers were unusually delayed in delivery.
The situation was not different from POS operators due to unavailability of the naira.
About 4pm Thursday, reconstruction activities were seen ongoing in some of the banks vandalized during the scarcity of naira protest, Wednesday.
Welding of damaged iron fence in front of Zenith bank, Mission Road caught the attention of passers-by some of whom condemned the destructive act of the perpetrators.
