Curfew Imposed on Nasarawa LG After Violent Protests

A dusk-to-dawn curfew has been imposed on the Karu Local Government Area (LGA) of Nasarawa State after the #EndBadGovernance protests turned violent.

The media aide to the Karu LGA Chairman, Danbaba Magaji, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

“The Executive Chairman of Karu Local Government Council, James Thomas, after due consideration, has imposed a curfew across Karu LGA from 6 pm to 6 am from today until further notice,” the statement read.

Giving reason for the curfew, the authorities said it “was imposed as a precautionary measure to ensure the full security of Karu LGA.”

“The curfew will restrict the movement of people, Okada and Keke riders, all shop owners, and motorists in Karu LGA,” the statement said.

Just like some other northern States, the government declared curfew following the destruction, looting, stealing, highway blockade, and vandalism that trailed the demonstration in the Mararraba area, the border between Nasarawa State and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Thousands of mostly young people poured onto the streets across Nigeria on Thursday to protest against the country’s worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation, prompting police to fire tear gas to disperse the crowds.

Carrying banners, bells and Nigeria’s green-and-white flag, the protesters chanted songs as they listed their demands, including the reinstatement of gas and electricity subsidies whose removal as part of the government’s reform efforts to grow the economy has had a knock-on effect on the price of just about everything else.

Many businesses across the country shuttered Thursday amid fears the protests could be a replay of the deadly 2020 demonstrations against police brutality in the country or a wave of violence similar to last month’s protests in Kenya, where a tax hike led to chaos in the capital, Nairobi.