Police Declare 24-Hour Curfew in Borno as Protesters Go Berserk Over Gunshots, Teargas
The Borno State Police Command has imposed a 24-hour curfew in response to nationwide hunger protests. This decision followed an incident on Thursday where protesters in the Bulunkutu area of Maiduguri, Borno State’s capital, clashed with police. Officers fired teargas to disperse the crowds, leading to chaos.
According to Daily Trust, the agitated protesters, numbering in the hundreds, set up roadblocks, hindering vehicular movement and damaging private and commercial vehicles that attempted to pass.
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The protesters, both young men and women, chanted anti-government slogans and carried placards with inscriptions such as “Ba ma yi,” “Tinubu must go,” “End the bad governance,” and “There is hunger.”
One protester, identified as Muhammad, stated that neither teargas nor gunshots would deter them from exercising their constitutional right to protest. “We want the world to know the kind of injustice meted against us by the police. They shoot teargas at us while conducting our peaceful protest, and that would not deter us,” he said.
In response to the situation, State Police Command Spokesperson Nahum Kenneth Daso issued a statement explaining that the curfew was implemented due to security concerns, including a bomb explosion that occurred on Wednesday.
Daso stated, “In view of the constitutional mandate of the Nigeria Police Force and other relevant security and law enforcement agencies toward the preservation of law and order in the state. You are all aware of the incident that took place at Kawori, which was the detonation of an improvised explosive device leading to the death of sixteen persons, while several others were critically injured and are on admission across various government hospitals in the state.”
He continued, “In line with our constitutional mandate towards the restoration of law and order, His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Umar Zulum, in consultation with heads of security in the state, finds it expedient to declare a 24-hour curfew in the state with immediate effect.”
Daso urged residents to remain calm and law-abiding, assuring them that further developments would be communicated as necessary.
