The Niger State Police Command has arrested a 30-year-old woman, Aisha Jibrin, who led women and youths in a mass protest on Monday, over the high cost of living in Minna, the state capital.
Aisha was arrested alongside two other women: 57-year-old Fatima Aliyu, and 43-year-old Fatima Isyaku; and 22 others.
Youths and women had taken to the streets of Minna on Monday, protesting over what they called the biting hardship and the rising cost of living in the country
The protest started when a group of women led by Aisha, blocked Minna-Bida Road at the popular Kpakungu Roundabout.
They were later joined by men and youths who barricaded the road, stopping vehicles from moving.
It prompted the deployment of police operatives to the scene but they were unable to stop the protest
Even the arrival of the Deputy Governor of Niger State, Yakubu Garba at the scene to address the group, did not prevent the protest from turning violent
The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abiodun Wasiu, in a statement admitted that the police adopted minimum force to disperse the protesters
This resulted in the protesters becoming violent and
“attacking the police with weapons such as stones, bottles, sticks, cutlasses and damaged police patrol vehicles and parts of the Kpakungu Division roof”
The statement confirmed the arrest of Aisha and two of her colleagues on Wednesday.
(C) ControlTV 2024.
