Protesters Block Road In Uyo State, Set Off Bonfires
Protesters on Thursday afternoon blocked a major road in Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State, causing traffic to halt, and businesses to close.
The protesters used discarded tyres to set up bonfire on the Ikot Ekpene Road, a resident who witnessed the incident told PREMIUM TIMES, around 4p.m.
Some of the protesters marched into Ikpa Road where the town campus of the University of Uyo is.
But they fled into adjoining streets when security officials arrived at the scene in their number, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.
The situation is tense for now.
Businesses hurriedly closed shops for the day over fear of possible violence in the city, which has been peaceful so far.
The police spokesperson in Akwa Ibom State, Odiko MacDon, said he learnt there was a peaceful protest around Ibom Plaza, a popular recreational park in the heart of the city.
“We do not prevent peaceful protest, it is violent protests that we are against,” he said.
Police and other security agencies have been patrolling the city.
Hoodlums in different parts of Nigeria have been attacking public and private properties as a fallout of the #EndSARS protests.
The #EndSARS protests, which began nearly two weeks ago, seek an end to police brutality in the country, among other institutional reforms.
Some states in Nigeria have imposed curfews to curtail loss of lives and properties.
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