Governor Umar Namadi of Jigawa State, on Thursday, imposed a curfew following the #EndBadGovernance protest, which escalated into widespread looting across the state.
In an official broadcast, Governor Namadi announced that the curfew would take effect immediately but would be relaxed between 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Friday to allow Muslims to attend Jumm’at congregational prayers.
Describing the protest as unusual, the governor stated that it was led primarily by underaged individuals with backing from those with personal interests.
He condemned the destruction and looting of public properties and deemed the curfew necessary to prevent further damage.
The curfew will remain in place until a full assessment is completed to determine the appropriate course of action.
The state police have cautioned residents to comply with the curfew directives. Police spokesperson Lawan Adam reported that protesters targeted government and private storage facilities, setting fire to vehicles at a local government secretariat.
The Hadejia local council secretariat was also broken into and severely damaged.
In addition, the protesters vandalized a storage facility belonging to the Jigawa Agricultural and Rural Development Agency stealing fertilizers and food items. In Gumel Local Government Area, they burned down the residence of Nazifi Sani, a member of the House of Representatives, and attacked the NITDA office.
The APC state secretariat was looted and set ablaze, while the Jigawa Agricultural Supply Company store was vandalized and its supplies stolen.
An attempt was also made to attack the residence of Senator Babangida Hussaini in Kazaure town.
The police have arrested 55 suspects and recovered various looted items, including 35 motorcycles, 3 tricycles, 12 bicycles, 9 chairs, 40 cartons of mosquito nets, and 12 bags of fertilizer.
“We’ve arrested 55 suspects, recovered motorcycles 35, tricycles 3 bicycles 12 bags of fertiliser, 111 chairs 9, and cartons of mosquito nets 40,” the police spokesperson said.
