#EndBadGovernanceInNigeria: Lagos, Kaduna deserted as protest enters day 6

With six days into the planned 10-day-long hunger protest across the country, protesters have shunned some parts of Lagos and Kaduna states.

The protests, under the tag, #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria, have witnessed a large presence of Nigerians in high numbers, especially the youths, who have demanded that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration ameliorate the economic hardship felt among the citizens.

According to Channels Television on Tuesday, there was a presence of security agencies on the ground as business activities resumed in the Ojota area of Lagos State.

An aerial view of Ojota, Lagos State

There was no sign of protesters at the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park as observed by the media house.

Some suspected hoodlums on Sunday chased away the protesters who had gathered at the park as the hoodlums intervened following a disagreement between two groups of protesters.

Also, in Kaduna State, protesters were absent as shops, filling stations and markets were also shut as of Tuesday.

A shut petrol station in Kaduna State

The Sheikh Abubakar Gumi central market in the state capital was also deserted.

Security operatives in Kaduna State

A deserted street by protesters in Kaduna State

The Kaduna State Security Council, led by Governor Uba Sani, had imposed a 24-hour curfew on the metropolitan cities of Kaduna and Zaria and their environs.

This decision followed a review of the security situation in the state, which revealed that the ongoing protests had been hijacked by criminal elements engaging in looting and the destruction of private and public property.

This was as the Nigeria Police Force arrested no fewer than 30 protesters for waving Russian flags in Kano, Kaduna, Katsina and Bauchi states — an act which the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa has labelled as a treasonable felony.

President Bola Tinubu, in a nationwide address on Sunday, called on the protesters to relax their agitation as he said his administration was doing everything possible to improve the living standard of the populace.

A return of the fuel subsidy, reduced cost of governance, reversal of the electricity tariff hike, among other things, made the list of demands by the protests’ organisers.