Violent protest erupted on Monday in the ancient town of Sagamu, Ogun State as angry youths protesting the continuous non-availability of the new Naira notes, burnt down two commercial banks in the area.
The protesters, who made bonfires at the Local Government Secretariat, Ita Oba, and GRA area, set ablaze the Sagamu branches of the Union Bank and Keystone Bank in Sabo area of the town and also disrupted vehicular movement and other socio-economic activities in the town.
The protest, which started in front of the palace of the Akarigbo of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Ajayi, later spread to other parts of the town before the rampaging youths later barricaded the Sagamu-Benin expressway and other major streets in Sagamu metropolis, to ensure that human and vehicular movements were completely brought to a halt.
The protest further surged into the Sagamu Local Government Secretariat where the irate youths also vandalised furniture, a giant generating set, overturned tables and files.
A youth in the town, who summoned courage to speak with journalists, Kayode Segun-Okeowo, described the protest as a “motivated destruction and not a protest”.
The development, however, compelled the state Commissioner of Police, Frank Mba, to race to the scene in company of some military personnel to restore normalcy.
As at the time of filing this report, the State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abimbola Oyeyemi, said 27 suspects have been arrested in connection with the riot.
Oyeyemi further stated that normalcy has been restored in greater parts of Sagamu town.
