By Nnanna Otu (Lagos Bureau Chief)
Sagamu, the sprawling sleepy town at the Ogun State end of the Benin – Ore –Sagamu Express Road, witnessed a day of rage on Monday, 20th February, 2023. The violent protest that started on Monday morning climaxed mid-morning as angry youths burnt down branches of Union and Keystone banks in the town. The protest was in reaction to the lingering Naira scarcity and it all started in front of the palace of the Akarigbo of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Ajayi, with some youths barricading roads and setting up a bonfire.
The protest appeared more like a spontaneous expression of anger by the youths of the town, but the well-coordinated execution of the protest seemed to suggest a well-planned and well-mapped out execution program. A youth leader in the town, Kayode Segun-Okeowo, laid credence this line of thought when he described the mayhem in Sagamu as a motivated destruction and not a protest. He maintained that “This is not a protest. I’m a comrade and understand the ABC of protests. It is motivated to cause destruction. Those behind this must stop.” The youth leader also confirmed that two branches of commercial Banks in the town were set ablaze by the protesters.
As is customary with Nigerian Security Forces, it was obvious that the Nigeria Police had Intel on the possibility of a social unrest brewing in the state, yet the force was caught napping and did nothing to nib the disaster in the bud. On Sunday, the Ogun State Police Command alleged that some individuals were planning to cause a breach of public peace in the State by taking undue advantage of the lingering cash and fuel scarcity in the nation to unleash mayhem. The command said it had an intelligence report that those planning the mayhem may attack banks and other public and private infrastructures in the State. The police spokesman in Ogun, Abimbola Oyeyemi, disclosed this to newsmen in Abeokuta on Sunday. He revealed that the Commissioner of Police, Frank Mba, spoke at a confidence-building patrol conducted by the police and other security forces on Saturday.
The Police Command Spokesman further said that the State Commissioner of Police Mr. Frank Mba, commended residents of the State for their resilience and peaceful conduct in the face of the biting economic challenges and assured residents of the command’s resolve to protect lives and property. “The CP noted that intelligence at the disposal of the Command indicates that some criminal elements are planning to take advantage of the challenging economic situation to disrupt the peace being enjoyed in the State,” Oyeyemi said. He said the CP warned that the police would not fold its arms and allow criminals to hide under any guise “to unleash mayhem on residents, private and public properties and critical national infrastructure, including banks and offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”
It is therefore worrisome that a day after the tough talks of the State Police Commissioner, Sagamu literally went up in flames as protesters had a field day, held the town by the jugular for hours and made a day light burn fire of some commercial Bank branches in the town.
Police Report indicates that two lives were lost during the protest, but locals insist that as many as eight lives were lost in the protest in Sagamu on Monday, 20th February, 2023.
