Following in the footsteps of Edo State, the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has imposed a 24-hour curfew on the state effective from 4:00p.m. today Tuesday October 20, 2020. The governor made this known in a statement while lamenting that the protests against police brutality and extrajudicial killings had transformed into all sorts of violence.
In his words, “I have watched with shock how what began as a peaceful #EndSARS protest has degenerated into a monster that is threatening the well-being of our society. Lives and limbs have been lost as criminals and miscreants are now hiding under the umbrella of these protests to unleash mayhem on our state.
“As a government that is alive to its responsibility and has shown a commitment to the movement #ENDSARS, we will not watch and allow anarchy in our dear state. I, therefore, hereby impose a 24-hour curfew on all parts of the state as from 4:00p.m. today, 20th October 2020. Nobody, except essential service providers and first responders must be found on the streets.”
The #EndSARS protests rocking the country have continued for almost two weeks with youths calling for a lasting reform of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). Major highways have been blocked by the youths, thereby, causing gridlock and affecting economic activities.
In the process, suspected hoodlums had also hijacked the #EndSARS campaign, which has been largely peaceful and violent-free in some cities. In the past few days, hoodlums many of which may have been sponsored to disrupt the protests have wreaked havoc on citizens and vandalised public assets in Lagos, Benin, Abuja, and other cities across the country.
