390 arraigned over Jigawa hunger protest violence

The Jigawa State Police Command said on Thursday it had prosecuted no fewer than 390 out of the 400 suspects arrested for vandalism and other crimes during the nationwide hunger protest that turned violent in Jigawa and some other northern states.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, A.T. Abdullahi, disclosed this while speaking to newsmen in Dutse on Thursday.

He said the protesters were apprehended during the protest for vandalising and looting government and public property in the state.

“We arrested 400 protesters and out of the number, 390 have been prosecuted while the cases of the remaining suspects are still pending,” the CP said.

According to him, hoodlums, under the guise of the hunger protest, vandalised and looted public and private property in 10 local government areas of the state.

The CP listed some of the vandalised and looted property as the state government fertilizer stores in Babura and Hadeja LGAs.

According to him, the LGAs, where the protest turned violent, are Kiyaye, Hadeja, Kazaure, Kaugama, Malammadori and Gumel, among others.

Abdullahi said the police were able to recover some of the looted properties from the suspects.

“I must use this opportunity to commend our officers and men of the command for their efforts and commitment to contain the protest,” he added.

Meanwhile, organisers of the August 1 to 10, 2024, hardship protests in Lagos have said their action was successful even though the government failed to meet their demands.

One of the protest leaders in Lagos, Hassan Taiwo, in a chat with The PUNCH on Thursday, said although a total number of 15 people were arrested during the protests, “all were released through the efforts of our team of dedicated pro bono lawyers led by Inibehe Effiong.”

In a statement he further provided our correspondent with, signed by him alongside Oloye Adegboyega Adeniji, Adamma Ukpabi, Seyi Akinde, and Peluola Adewale on behalf of the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria movement, Lagos State, they said the protest was successful both in terms of how it reinforced the fundamental right to peaceful assembly and in terms of the support and participation it received while it lasted.

 “In many parts of the country, including the bustling megacity of Lagos, the first few days of the protest produced a condition of partial strike with schools, government offices, banks, and financial institutions shut down, and vehicular traffic halted.

“Additionally, the fact that the protest compelled President Bola Tinubu, who initially considered our agitation unworthy of his attention, to address a national broadcast on Sunday, August 4, 2024, is an indication of the power of the movement.”

They however said they noted “with dismay” that the protest unfolded in an environment of a “severely shrunken” civic space and outlined a budding “civilian dictatorship.”

“Everything was thrown at us to vilify, demonise and criminalise the right to freedom of assembly,” the organisers said.

The policemen in Lagos were on ground throughout the protest which eventually ended on August 10.

During the protest, a video showed a protester in the Ojota area of Lagos where the protest was held, being hit in the head by a hoodlum.

Some other protesters were dispersed by suspected hoodlums at Alausa in Ikeja on one of the latter days of the action while some journalists with News Central were harassed by hoodlums during a live broadcast on the protest ground.

The Lagos Commissioner of Police, Adegoke Fayoade, has ordered a probe into the incident.

The organisers further demanded the release of all those arrested, including the National Coordinator of the Youth Rights Campaign, Michael Adaramoye, popularly known as Lenin, and Musiu Sodiq who were arrested in Abuja.

Giving an update on their next-line action, the group said, “In the meantime, the #EndBadGovernance movement is undergoing internal reflection, re-evaluation, re-organisation and rebuilding in order to come out stronger during the next round of nationwide street protests.

“We shall continue to update the public about every other step in our long march to end bad governance in Nigeria.”