Defiant youths operating under the aegis of the #EndSARS protest, on Tuesday, defied the 24-hour curfew imposed on Edo State by the government following the violence which occurred on Monday during the protest, and trooped out again the next day to continue the protest.
From Ekenwan Road to Airport Road, Sapele Road and other interchange junctions within Benin City metropolis, the youths took over strategic positions as they chanted anti-government slogans.
The protest equally resumed in Auchi as the youths again regrouped at the popular Jattu junction, allowing only motorists on essential duties free passage.
Meanwhile, security has been tightened in parts of the state capital and adjoining towns as a response to the highjacking of the peaceful #EndSARS protests by hoodlums which led to two jailbreaks at two correctional centres and the burning of five police stations in the state.
This was just as the Edo State Government warned again on Tuesday that the 24-hour curfew imposed in the state on October 19, 2020 subsisted and would be active till further notice.
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The government stressed that “Everyone is expected to remain indoors. Security agencies have been deployed in the streets to ensure full compliance and anyone found contravening the directive will be dealt with according to the law.”
Special Adviser to Governor Godwin Obaseki on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr Crusoe Osagie in a statement in Benin City urged parents and guardians to restrain their children, wards and youths from flouting the order, as security agencies would not spare any individual.
The statement added that “the authorities are yet to confirm the total number of inmates released to the streets, as investigations are still ongoing, which necessitates the shutdown in the state.”
The statement emphasized that the state government “is committed to maintaining law and order and protecting lives and property in the state, and urges Edo citizens and residents to obey the directives for the collective good of all.”
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