The ongoing #EndBadGovernanceinNigeria protest in Kaduna took a new twist on Monday as protesters regrouped and set fire to a security patrol vehicle belonging to the Kaduna State Vigilance Service in Rigasa, located in the Igabi Local Government Area.
The Zaria office of the Kaduna State Traffic Law Enforcement Agency was also razed.
Spokesman for the state police command, ASP Mansir Hassan, confirmed that hoodlums vandalised a branch of one of the new generation banks at Tudun Wada in Kaduna South Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Monday.
He said, “Hoodlums broke into the bank and carted away some valuables and also destroyed some vehicles parked within the bank premises.”
He, however, debunked rumours that “a police armoured personnel carrier was snatched by the violent protesters at Tudun Wada.”
Hassan said, “The driver of the armoured vehicle succeeded in manoeuvring the crowd of protesters who climbed on top of the vehicle since it was carrying live ammunition and couldn’t have used maximum force against the crowd.
“On the same day, protesters vandalised several government properties, including the office of the Kaduna State Traffic Law Enforcement Agency on Sokoto Road in the heart of the state. Part of the office was burnt, and furniture and other items were stolen.”
Our correspondent reports that this unexpected escalation has raised concerns about the protests’ direction and the potential involvement of external influences.
This was just as the Kaduna State Security Council, led by Governor Uba Sani, has imposed a 24-hour curfew on Kaduna and Zaria metropolitan cities and their environs, effective immediately.
The decision followed a review of the security situation in the state, which revealed that the ongoing protests have been hijacked by criminal elements engaging in looting and destruction of private and public property.
In a statement by the Overseeing Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, citizens were advised to remain indoors while security forces work to maintain safety and security.
He said the curfew would be reviewed as necessary.
The Kaduna State Government urged citizens to cooperate with the security forces and to report any suspicious activities.
Meanwhile, after a brief period of calm, the protesters, mainly youths and children, reassembled in the city centrechanting “bama so,” meaning, “we don’t want” in Hausa.
They carried no placards stating their demands, only leaves and the Russian national flags.
According to one of the protesters, who wished to remain anonymous, they were angered by President Bola Tinubu’s failure to announce the return of fuel subsidies in his Sunday address to the nation.
