The ongoing #EndBadGovernanceinNigeria protest in Kaduna took a dramatic turn on Monday as demonstrators regrouped and set fire to a security patrol vehicle belonging to the Kaduna State Vigilance Service in Rigasa, Igabi Local Government Area.
Additionally, the Zaria office of the Kaduna State Traffic Law Enforcement Agency was set ablaze.
ASP Mansir Hassan, spokesman for the state police command, confirmed that hoodlums vandalised a branch of a new generation bank in Tudun Wada, Kaduna South Local Government Area. “Hoodlums broke into the bank, stole valuables, and damaged vehicles parked on the premises,” he said. However, he denied claims that a police armoured personnel carrier was seized by protesters. “The driver successfully navigated through the crowd without using maximum force despite carrying live ammunition,” he clarified.
Protesters also targeted government properties, including the Kaduna State Traffic Law Enforcement Agency office on Sokoto Road, resulting in partial destruction and theft of furniture and other items.
The escalation has raised concerns about the protests’ direction and the involvement of external influences. Consequently, Governor Uba Sani and the Kaduna State Security Council imposed a 24-hour curfew on Kaduna and Zaria metropolitan areas and surrounding regions, effective immediately.
Samuel Aruwan, Overseeing Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, advised citizens to stay indoors while security forces work to restore order, stating that the curfew would be reviewed as necessary.
Despite a brief calm, protesters, primarily youths and children, regrouped in the city center, chanting “bama so,” meaning “we don’t want” in Hausa. They carried leaves and Russian national flags, expressing frustration over President Bola Tinubu’s failure to announce the return of fuel subsidies in his Sunday address to the nation.
