Kwara State bans oil subsidy street protests

GOVERNOR AbdulFatah Ahmed of Kwara State yesterday outlawed further street protests in Ilorin, the state capital over the withdrawal of oil subsidy.

By interpretation therefore, a stay at home order may have been slammed on the protesting residents. But this does not translate into an imposition of a curfew.

Ahmed, in  a broadcast to the people of the state in Ilorin, believed that the protests which yesterday entered its fourth day, was assuming a dangerous dimension, noting that it was gradually becoming  political protests that must henceforth be halted in the interest of peace and tranquility.

Already, the government claimed that the leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), the civil society and the students union in the state have allegedly agreed to review the methods of their protests which yesterday assumed a violent trend. Suspected miscreants mounted bonfires on major roads in the town extorting unsuspecting private cars’ owners.

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By Abiodun Fagbemi, Ilorin