Hoodlums Defy Okowa’s Curfew, Attempt To Raze Down Police Station After Buhari’s Speech

Some group of youths in Warri, Delta state, despite the 48-hours curfew imposed by Governor Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa, attempted to razed down the Ovwian/Aladja Police Division in Udu Local Government Area, hours after President Muhammadu Buhari’s nationwide address appealing to protesters to sheath their sword.

BIGPEN reports President Buhari had on Thursday asked Nigerian youths to end their two-week-long protest and engage with the government to find solutions to the issues they raised.

He, however, warned that the government’s quick response to the five demands initially made by the protesters was misconstrued for weakness.

According to him, “as a democratic government, we listened to, and carefully evaluated the five-point demands of the protesters. And, having accepted them, we immediately scrapped SARS, and put measures in place to address the other demands of our youth,”.

“Sadly, the promptness with which we have acted seemed to have been misconstrued as a sign of weakness and twisted by some for their selfish unpatriotic interests,” Buhari said in the speech, the first by him since the protest erupted in Lagos and spread throughout the country.

It was gathered that immediately after the speech, some group of youths mobilized to Ebrumede police station by DSC roundabout Effurun, near Warri, in attempt to burn it down. Hoodlums had earlier in the day targeted the police station after a reckless driver who killed a 13-year old boy simply identified as Oghenevwegba was rescued to the station.

They were, however repelled by soldiers drafted to the scene who shot sporadically to disperse the surging crowd.

UPDATED: Okowa Declares 2-days Lockdown In Delta As #EndSARS Protest Turns Violence

Sources said that shortly after Buhari’s address, another set of mobs in a large number besieged the ever-busy Ovwian/Aladja Police Station under the guise of the #EndSARS protests thus defying the 48-hour curfew imposed in the state by Governor Okowa which started at 6:pm on Thursday.

Chanting “We want change”, “ENDSARS”, “#ENDUnemployment”, #ENDbadGovernance#,” #ENDbadLeaderships#”, the mobs set burn fire on the DSC expressway and every flash point junction in the area.

They were reportedly repelled by soldiers who shot sporadically into the air prompting many to scamper to safety. A source said that in ensuing confusion, two of the coordinators of the #EndSARS protests, Comrade Israel Joe and MC Okoloko Papa who were reportedly observing the curfew in their homes but responded to distress calls to appeal to the mobs to calm down and allow peace to reign, were caught in the cross fire as soldiers descended on them.