Nigeria’s Rivers State Bans People Entering, Leaving At Night

Nigeria’s Rivers state is banning people from crossing its borders at night due to heightened insecurity, amidst rising violence and lawlessness in the country.

Rivers’ Governor Nyesom Wike in a statement on Tuesday said the ban on people entering or leaving Rivers between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. will take effect from April 28 until further notice,

Wike cited the killings of police, customs and civil defence officers on Saturday and of army soldiers on Sunday to justify the curfew.

He said the attackers and their sponsors are people who came from outside Rivers state, adding that his administration will do everything within its powers to prevent the recurrence of such senseless and murderous acts.

Insecurity has mounted across Nigeria. In the northwest, gunmen have kidnapped more than 700 school children since December, and militants have also looted and pillaged communities in the region.

On Sunday, over 30 soldiers reportedly died in one militant attack, and Earlier on Wednesday, the United States consulate in Lagos warned of increased crime in the city.

Rivers lies in Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta, where past unrest has affected crude production as militants destroyed and raided facilities.