By Abimbola Ogunnaike
Riots broke out in Ikorodu part of Lagos State and its environs on Friday morning, 17 February, 2023, spreading to Mile 12, a popular international foodstuff market along Ikorodu Road, allegedly over scarcity of naira.
Thegazellenews.com gathered that there was shooting as many civil servants and those going outside Ikorodu had to make a U-turn for fear of being hit by missiles or gunshot.
An eyewitness, who wrote on twitter via the LagosTrafficReports, said: “Government buses conveying civil servants all turned and returned to Ikorodu Itowolo is also not safe. Agric, Ikorodu was (sic) unrest a couple of minutes ago. But it looks calm now from where I stand”.
According to the eyewitness, the riot has spread to Ketu and Ojota, also along the Ikorodu Road, but soldiers were said to have been mobilised to stop the riot.
“There are soldiers everywhere at Ojota. People are just running and we don’t know what is happening,” another eyewitness added.
It was gathered that the riot was in connection with the lingering naira scarcity which had affected businesses and crippled many Nigerians.
“There has been a report of sporadic shooting in Mile 12, with hoodlums setting bonfire on the major road due to naira scarcity.@PoliceNG and @HQNigerianArmy presently on ground to restore normalcy,” another source twitted.
The police spokesperson in Lagos, SP Benjamin Hundeyin confirmed the development but said free movement of vehicles and people had been fully restored.
“Our officers and men are still on ground to prevent any breakdown of law and order,” he added, Hundeyin said, adding that he could not immediately confirm if the unrest stemmed from the cash scarcity.
