Naira Redesign: Police, soldiers intervene in Lagos unrest

Soldiers and police have been deployed to douse the riot that erupted in Mile 12, Ketu, Ojota area of Lagos on Friday over the scarcity of the new naira notes.

Many commuters on the Lagos-Ikorodu expressway had to flout traffic laws to reroute their movement.

The naira scarcity has led to violence in some parts of the country. On Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the continuous use of N200 notes until 10 April alongside the new notes.

He, however, insisted that the old N500 and N1,000 notes have ceased to be legal tenders, only saying the CBN would continue to accept them.

A caller who spoke on Bond FM said she was told by a commercial bus driver to turn back due to the situation.

Another caller said he saw military officers in the Mile 12 area of the state.

Confirming the situation, the police spokesperson in the state said that security operatives have been deployed to calm the unrest in Mile 12.

Benjamin Hundeyin, in a tweet said “it is true. Our men are there. Reinforcement units have been deployed.

“Stay safe out there as we closely monitor and manage the situation.”

About an hour later, he posted that law and order had been restored. However, he said that, “officers and men are still on ground to prevent any breakdown of law and order.”

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According to a driver who made a video of the situation and posted it on Twitter, many cars had to turn back.

“I am coming from Ikorodu now, everybody is turning back to Ikorodu, there is heavy shooting,” he said .

“You can see cars going back to Ikorodu inside BRT, facing the cars coming to Ikorodu. You can see everybody running, it is not an easy task this morning. Just avoid Mile 12. If you are inside Ikorodu, don’t even bother to come out.”

There are also reports that there is unrest in Iyana-Iba. But this reporter noticed that along the Igando- Iyana-Iba road, very few commercial buses are working. This has led to a surge in fares.

According Punch newspaper, there was tension along the Isheri-Igando road as protesters barricades the road over the rejection of the old naira notes by commercial buses.