At least four protesters were feared killed on Wednesday when violence erupted in Benin and its environs in Edo State over cash swap policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
In Delta State, irate youths set ablaze two commercial banks in protest against the continued scarcity of the new Naira notes and their rejection of the old notes.
The victims in Benin were among the teeming customers of commercial banks who attempted to deposit their old Naira notes at the CBN’s branch on Akpakpava Road.
Two of the deceased were said to be young men and women hit by direct gunshots from policemen in front of the CBN’s branch by the popular Ring Road.
One of the protesters in front of CBN told The Nation that he saw the bodies of the four victims with three of them hurriedly evacuated by policemen. He said the depositors resisted the evacuation of fourth victim, a fair man, in his 20s.
Fully-armed soldiers and policemen prevented the depositors from moving close to the main entrance of the CBN’s branch. The protesters angrily vandalised commercial banks in the neighbourhood.
Armoured Personnel Carrier of the state police command, marked NPF 3200 D, led many patrol vans.
The police operatives shot directly at the protesters and sporadically into the air, while the displeased depositors also pelted the speeding vehicles of the security personnel with stones and other dangerous objects.
Most of the major roads in Benin and its environs were blocked by the protesters, who made bonfires on them, with motorists hanging leaves on their vehicles to prevent being attacked and to show solidarity.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Superintendent Chidi Nwabuzor could not be reached as of the time of filing this report.
The affected bank branches in Delta State are located in the Orovwohworun area of Udu. They included First Bank and Access Bank.
The protesters comprised mainly tricycle and motorcycle operators who were angered by the commercial banks’ refusal to accept the old N200, N500, and N1,000 naira notes.
Witnesses said that trouble started in the early hours of the day when customers of the banks, in their long queues, could not access new notes.
Aggrieved youths, who complained bitterly about the biting effects of the currency scarcity, coupled with the attitude of the bank officials, first attacked their ATM outlets before putting fire to the banks.
One of the protesters said: “We are hungry and we are in a cash dilemma. No new naira notes and they are rejecting the old ones. People cannot eat, do business, we are hungry and people are dying and they are still saying politics”.
Also, a fuel station in the area was torched for rejecting the old notes from residents. The angry protesters blocked a section of the road before setting fire to the ATMs in the banks.
The Delta State Police Command’s spokesperson, Deputy Superintendent Bright Edafe could not be reached for comments.
Protest also erupted in Akure, the Ondo State capital, over the refusal of commercial banks to receive old Naira notes from customers as well as pay out new notes.
The protest began at the First Bank, Alagbaka by angry customers who had waited for several hours without being attended to, according to a report by The Nation.
Other banks in Akure have shut businesses to avoid being attacked. Roads were also barricaded by angry protesters.
