Abuja protesters defy security crackdown, overrun Federal Secretariat Complex
ABUJA – Thousands of protesters in Abuja have taken control of the Federal Secretariat Complex after being blocked from accessing the Eagle Square Complex by security agencies, who unleashed hundreds of teargas canisters in a bid to disperse them.
The protesters, undeterred by the heavy-handed response, have regrouped at the Finance Junction on Ahmadu Bello Way, where they are being joined by increasingly large numbers of Abuja residents.
Despite the significant security presence, the crowd is building momentum and threatening to overwhelm the troops on the ground.
While no gunshots have been fired yet, the protesters remain defiant and determined to make their voices heard.
The protest, sparked by widespread anger over hunger and economic hardship, shows no signs of abating.
The security agencies’ decision to deploy teargas canisters in an attempt to disperse the protesters has only seemed to galvanize the crowd, with more and more people joining the demonstration by the hour.
As the situation continues to unfold, concerns are growing about the potential for further escalation.
Military takes over Abuja-Kubwa highway as protesters become violent, extort motorists, commuters
The military has been forced by violent protesters to take over the popular AYA-Kubwa highway, which provides access to the biggest housing estate in Africa, Gwarinpa and leads to other parts of Northern Nigeria.
Although the protesters started their demonstration peacefully in the morning, they later became violent and exploitative as the protest gathered momentum later in the day.
The unruly protesters made up mostly of street urchins and criminals, started by blocking and molesting motorists on service lanes of the ten-lane highway, the subsequently extended theor heinous trade to the centre of the road by blocking it and making bonfires and stopping motorists and extorting money from them.
They also brazenly ignored the presence of policemen and civil defence operatives and attacked motorists and passersby who did not pay them what they requested.
As the hoodlums blocked the highway and extorted motorists, they also beat up those who refused to part with cash to them.
The information immediately spread to the military authorities, which immediately dispatched troops and armoured trucks to take over the highway.
As the military forces arrived, they cut off the highway at Katampe roundabout and with it armoured truck to check incoming and outgoing movements.
The military placed similar armoured trucks and personnel at different and strategic locations and pushed the mobs away.
But the troops could not immediately clear the road of the huge stones, tree trunks and burnt tyres as well as other impediments which the hoodlums erected to stall free movement before the military arrived.
Our correspondent fears that the situation might deteriorate as night approaches especially when the soldiers and riot policemen withdraw from the vital highway.