Protesters defy curfew in Edo, barricade roads

The #EndSARS protest continued in Edo State yesterday as hundreds of protesters defied the 24-hour curfew declared by the state government and barricaded some of the roads and streets in Benin City, the state capital.

It was gathered that the protesters took over the BeninUgbowo-Lagos road, Sapele road by-pass and Agbor road.

It was further gathered that the police later dispersed the youths who moved into the streets to set up barricades and bonfires.

The youths, it was also learnt, turned the protest into an opportunity to extort as motorists had to pay before being allowed to pass through their blockades. The youths wielded iron rods, wooden clubs and other weapons.

A driver, who craved anonymity, said he paid N200 at each of the road blocks mounted by the youths.

Commercial motorcyclists also took advantage of the situation as they charged N2,500 from Jehovah junction to Ramat Park, which cost N80 on a normal day.

The situation, it was gathered, was not different in other parts of the Benin metropolis.

Meanwhile, since the protest turned violent on Monday, seven police stations have been set ablaze by the hoodlums. They are Ugbekun, St Saviour, Idogbo, Textile Mill Road, Oba Market, Ivbiotor and Evbotubu police stations.

A statement, yesterday, by the state government’s spokesman, Crusoe Osagie, warned that the curfew still subsists and anyone found contravening the directive would be dealt with according to the law.