Posted by Amarachi on Tue 07th Feb, 2023 - tori.ng
The angry youths later arrived Oke-Ikewo and destroyed all political materials hung on the streetlights
There was palpable tension as aggrieved youths staged a violent protest in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital.
The protest reportedly started at Asero, Abeokuta, on Tuesday, by some customers of GTBank over their inability to get new naira notes from the bank.
The protesters who made bonfires on the roads blocked the road that leads to Adatan and Osiele-Ibadan during the protest.
The development also escalated and spread to Adatan, Sapon, Oke-Ilewo, Lafenwa among others in the state capital.
The Commissioner of Police in Ogun, Lanre Bankole, hurriedly raced to the scene to calm the situation which forced the bank officials to suspend their service.
Punch gathered that simultaneous reactions occurred as another set of irate youths went to Sapon, Lafenwa, Adatan, Gbonagun Obantoko and protested.
A bank in Sapon, abruptly terminated their services to avoid being attacked while banks at Oke-Ilewo and Panseke also closed shops before the angry youths pounce on them.
Some bank staff at Oke-Ilewo and Panseke were seen rushing out of the banks’ premises and left.
The irate youths later arrived Oke-Ikewo and destroyed all political materials hung on the street lights. The youths who moved in motorcycles also blocked the Lalubu road during the protest, halting the free flow of vehicular movements.
They made bonfires in other places while policemen were nowhere to be found until after the angry youths had left the scene.
Also, some protesters stormed a branch of First Bank at Lafenwa, Abeokuta and destroyed the Automobile Teller Machine in the bank.
Schools were also reportedly closed following the confusion while a secondary school at Gbonagun, Obantoko was reportedly attacked.
A teacher at the school who plead anonymity said a tear gas canister was thrown into the school compound.
She said the teachers had to hurriedly evacuate the pupils to a safer place.