Normalcy seems to have been restored in Sagamu, Sagamu Local Government Area, of Ogun State after a violent protest that rocked the town early on Monday over the scarcity of fuel and the new naira notes.
Banks and business premises were attacked and set ablaze, cars looted and burnt, as shops were forced to remain under lock and key.
According to the state’s Commissioner of Police, Frank Mba, who led his men and soldiers to the scene, 30 suspects have been arrested in connection with the unrest.
Residents claim the violence started around 5:30 a.m. while law-abiding citizens were still sleeping.
Most affected was Oba Erinwole Road, where about seven branches of commercial banks were attacked and ATM machines were vandalized and looted, leaving the Sagamu neighborhood as a shadow of itself.
Hoodlums also broke down the wall of a bank’s branch in an attempt to gain access to the banking hall and the safe room.
It took the intervention of a combined team of the police, led by the Commissioner of Police, and men of the Nigerian Army to keep the violent protests from escalating.
In the wake of the violent protest that disrupted the otherwise peaceful town, 30 suspects were said to have been arrested inside one of the banks.
Mba warned against violent protests, an action he said would compound the already fragile situation in the country.
Though relative normalcy has been restored, men and officers of the command have since been deployed to strategic locations in the area to ensure law and order prevails.
