By Timothy Agbor, Osogbo
ARMED officers of the Nigerian Army, on Tuesday, stormed major cities in Osun State to maintain law and order.
Governor Gboyega Oyetola had ordered a 24-hour curfew on Tuesday night but most residents, on Wednesday, disregarded it as some stormed the streets to resume their protest against police brutality and bad governance in Nigeria.
The curfew, which started at midnight on Tuesday, did not deter the protesting youths as they barricaded the Olaiya junction along Gbongan road in Osogbo.
Even when armed soldiers in about seven patrol vans, around 11.00am, met them barricading the road, they stood their ground and did not take flight from the streets.
Instead of forcing them off the street, the head of the troop said they were not going to launch an attack on them but appealed to them to obey the curfew order of the governor.
One of the soldiers was holding the Nigerian flag in solidarity with the protesters.
Addressing the protesters, the head of the troop said, “We are here to protect you. The future is ours; the future is yours but we can’t save the future by doing this.
“It is understood that if they slap your brother, you go vex but let us try as much as possible to control ourselves. So, gentlemen, let’s calm down.”
Also speaking at the protest ground, the spokesperson of the #EndSARS protesters, Olawale Bakare condemned what he described as “carnage” unleashed on protesters in Lagos and other parts of the country.
He said that would be the last massacre that the agitation would witness.
He said, “We will not be discouraged in demanding for good governance in Nigeria. We, the youths of Nigeria, are resolute to make this nation better.
“We are immediately calling the Government of Osun State to reverse the thoughtless imposition of the curfew, as it would be insensitive and unpatriotic to impose such under this economic hardship and at a moment when none of our demands are met. We outrightly object any attempt to silence us in the face of oppression.
“We won’t stop until we achieve our revolutionary goals for a new Nigeria.”
