Chaos Continues in Ekiti

Unrest continues in Ekiti as Armed policemen and soldiers took over strategic places in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital on Tuesday as the anti-impeachment protests by the Peoples Democratic Party members entered the second day.

The mayhem which also took place in Igede,   Itawure, Efon Alaaye, Iworoko, Aisegba, Ikere, Ise, Ogotun and Igbemo,   led to the death of one person, accidents and the closure of banks.

Nineteen All Progressives Congress members of the state House of Assembly had served an impeachment notice on Governor Ayodele Fayose, citing eight impeachable offences,   including impunity, violence, stalking and other constitutional breaches, against him.

The protesters, who   converged on   Ajilosun, Ijigbo, the Secretariat Road, Okesa, Ojumose and old garage as early as 6.30am, moved round the city , thereby hindering movements   for several hours.

While some of them made bonfires on the streets, others used broken bottles, wooden chairs and tables to block the highways that   lead to and out of the city.

The development forced private and commercial bus drivers from other parts of the country who pass through the state capital to park until the chaos subsided.

Their passengers panicked as the demonstrators   drove round the streets in commercial buses chanting solidarity songs. They were watched by the heavily-armed soldiers and policemen.

The   security operatives were mostly seen in areas such as the Fajuyi Roundabout, the Governor’s Office Road and the NTA Road where the protesters used luxury buses, tyres and chairs to block them.

But at the Secretariat Road, a   Toyota Hilux van marked AA 363 YEK, conveying some gun-wielding protesters to the assembly premises   ran into a police patrol vehicle, a development that led to the arrest of three of them (protesters).

Among the worst affected by the chaos were   Senior Secondary School 3 pupils presently sitting for the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations outside the capital city who were turned back by the demonstrators.

Many civil servants and traders, who had reported at their places of work and business had to return home in fear.

In spite of the violence, some bank customers in the city were seen using the Automated Teller Machines while those without ATM cards milled round the front of the banks located on the Bank Road, New Garage and Adebayo Road.

An employee of one of the banks told The PUNCH that they took precautionary measures against the current situation in the state.

In Igede, a barricade on the Igede-Iyin-Ado Road led to   accidents.   The PUNCH correspondent in the state was involved in one of them.

Our   correspondent, who was in the community in the heat of the protest rammed his car into another whose   driver suddenly applied the brakes on seeing the barricade.   Although the two cars were badly damaged, the occupants escaped unhurt.

In Efon Alaaye in Efon Local Government Area, a man identified as Modupe Olaiya, was shot dead   as the anti-Fayose impeachment demonstrators took to the streets following rumours that the 19 APC   members were on their way to to the town.

The PUNCH   however gathered that the lawmakers’ convoy was blocked by some youths and soldiers at Itawure, a town between Ekiti and Osun states.

An eyewitness said that Olaiya was shot in the commotion that ensued when the protesters challenged the lawmakers and asked them to return to Osogbo, the Osun State capital.

According to him, the victim   sustained injury from shots fired to scare away the protesters, who took over the Ado-Itawure-Ilesa Road.

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