The #EndBadGovernance protests took off on a peaceful note early on Thursday in Abuja, the nation’s capital, and most cities in the north, but the protests turned violent in some of the cities later in the day.

Protesters had gathered at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja early on Thursday morning where a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, presided by Justice Sylvanus Oriji had restricted the conduct of the protest.

One of their lawyers, Mr. Deji Adeyanju, said he was at the Stadium, Abuja to guide the conduct of the protesters. He, however, had a conversation with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ben. Ojukwu who insisted that based on the court injunction, the protest should be held inside the stadium, a position Mr. Adeyanju opposed stressing that the court did not restrict the protest to ” inside the stadium but the stadium”.

Protesters who went to the Eagle Square, the original venue of the protest had a rough day as the police fired teargas canisters to disperse them. At noon, police officers fired teargas at hoodlums that blocked highways to Abuja through the popular Mararaba junction in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, Kubwa expressway, and the Airport expressway were dispersed by armed policemen.

The hoodlums blocked the roads, burned tyres, and hindered motorists from accessing the road. They were seen holding placards and leaves. All the plazas and shops, motor parks along the roads, and the popular Mararaba market were under lock and key.

The protest also turned violent in Niger state where six persons allegedly lost their lives.

In Kano state, Protesters allegedly looted the newly built Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) Industrial Park in the commercial city.

The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) center in Kano, scheduled for commissioning next week, was raided by the protesters and set ablaze.

Some youths were seen making away with desktop computers, chairs, keyboards, and other appliances.
Mr. Bosun Tijani, minister of communications and digital economy, said the development would be a setback.

He said: “Sad to learn that our Digital Innovation Park in Kano slated for launch next week to support our technical talent accelerator (3MTT) has been set ablaze and looted by protesters,” Tijani wrote on X.

“Alongside #3MTT, 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 deepening our workforce for technology while creating job opportunities for the youth. Millions of Naira down the drain.”

Operatives of the police command in Kano have thwarted attempts by other youths to break into a grocery store. The suspects reportedly attempted to force their way into the two-story building housing Sadaraki stores on Zoo Road.

The suspects had destroyed some windows of the building before the police intervened.

The Kano, Adamawa, Yobe, and Borno state governments have imposed a 24-hour curfew in the states.

In Yobe state, irate protesters have reportedly set mass transit buses ablaze.
The organisers of the protests are calling for the reversal of the fuel price hike, the restoration of affordable electricity tariffs, and the reduction of import duties to their previous rates.

The groups also demand the reversal of many institutions’ hikes in tertiary education fees.

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