Hardship Protest: Youths, Police Face-Off As Protesters Attack Motorists, Traders In Rivers
•By Our Reporter
PORT HARCOURT – As the #EndBadGovernance in Nigeria nationwide protest enters its 6th day, the ongoing peaceful protest turned violent around Rumuigbo and Rumuokoro axis of Port Harcourt the Rivers State capital as the protesters attacked businesses and motorists destroying some of their wares and vehicles.
Trouble started after the protesters forced shops in the area to close, forcing the traders to shut down swiftly.
The protesters also blocked vehicles from moving freely around the Rumuokoro roundabout, banging on some of the vehicles that did not plant plucked leaves on their vehicles.
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The irate youths who carried tree branches, Nigerian flags and repeatedly chanted “hungry dey,” “Tinubu must go,” where however contained by police some officers stationed at the roundabout led by the Divisional Police Officer of Rumuokoro Division.
The incident however caused heavy traffic as vehicles were forced to stop and wait for almost an hour as the youths repeatedly circled the roundabout with their vehicles, tricycles and motorcycles, chanting anti-government slogans.
Although no bullets, nor teargas canisters were fired as the confusion ensued, after a while, allowed the traveling vehicles to pass through.
One of the protesters told Daily Independent that they were doing their best to ensure that the protest continued to remain peaceful and not hijacked by hoodlums.
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He said they were not interested in stopping anyone from going about their lawful businesses.
“We are protesting against bad governance in Nigeria, we youths of Nigeria are hungry and that is why we are doing this peaceful protest. We promised Sim Fubara that we are going to protest peacefully in Rivers State, so far no casualty, no destruction of properties and that’s what we have done.
“We passed Wike house not long ago, the CP sent his boys there and they saw us passing peacefully, we did not throw a stone, we did nothing.
“We are not stopping anybody from doing their business, the only thing is when you see us passing, close your shop, after we pass, you can open your shop.”
Meanwhile , a commercial bus driver who was attacked by some suspected hoodlums, told our correspondent who was at the scene of the protest that his vehicle window glasses were destroyed at Rumuodomaya, near Rumuokoro roundabout.
He said, “They broke my window glasses at Rumuodomaya, I was conveying passengers from Rukpokwu to Rumuokoro.
“The incident happened around 3pm, the protesters blocked from Rumuigbo junction to Rumuokoro, it was at Rumuokoro that the boys started hitting my vehicles and scattered my shifting glasses, some passengers who panicked ran out of the bus for their safety, while others remained inside.”
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Our correspondent who went round the city to monitor the protest observed that Police vans and armoured personnel carriers were positioned at strategic locations to tackle any possible breakdown of law and order, even as police officers escorted the protesters as they marched through the streets and road in the state.
•INDEPENDENTNG.