JUST IN: 3 dead as protests erupt in Oyo, Delta, Edo over the shortage of fresh notes

Three people have died as a result of violent protests that broke out on Wednesday morning in different districts of Benin City, the capital of Edo State, when frustrated locals who were unable to access their money in commercial banks took to the streets.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) State branch, which is situated on Akpakpava Street, the city’s economic hub and home to the majority of commercial banks, was the target of the demonstrators’ effort to break in. After that, they targeted a few nearby commercial banks.

A group of fish vendors complained to a private radio station in Ibadan that they had sold all of their goods on Tuesday and had accepted the old notes, but that when they arrived at the bank’s safe deposit box to deposit the money, nobody would sell to them.

In spite of the intense security, crowds were spotted gathered in front of the CBN office in Dugbe, ready to exchange outdated naira notes.

Angry youngsters demonstrated against the lack of the new, redesigned naira notes and the public’s rejection of the previous notes.

Before moving to the motorway, the protests began near the Orhuwhorun junction.

Bank employees and clients had to flee for safety after the mob damaged part of the buildings by hurling stones and other objects at the business.

Ifeanyi Okowa, the governor of Delta State, has meantime urged restraint and tolerance.

Charles Aniagwu, the state’s commissioner for information, issued a statement that included Okowa’s appeal.

READ ALSO: El-Rufai and Yahaya Bello are present as the Supreme Court adjourns the case till February 22

He urged citizens to maintain their composure while also pleading with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other monetary authorities to take additional measures to increase the amount of money in circulation.

The statement said, in part, “We appeal to our brothers and sisters throughout the state to maintain calm in spite of the current tribulations they are going through as a result of the scarcity of naira notes in the country.”

“As a government, we are aware of your plights, but we ask that you have patience with the monetary authorities as they work to increase the nation’s money supply.

We understand your suffering and worries, but burning down a bank that employs our people won’t bode well for us as a country and won’t help address the problem—rather, it will make things worse.

In order to ensure that more money is released to the country’s banks, we once again implore everyone to put down their weapons.

The governor’s appeal follows demonstrations by some state residents in the Orhuwhorun hamlet in the state’s Udu Local Government Area (LGA), where it was allegedly set on fire to a bank’s ATM gallery.

In Benin City, the capital of Edo State, chaos broke out at many banks along Akpakpava Road as a result of what some eyewitnesses claimed was a lack of access to cash at the banks.

Residents who were upset along the route began to light bonfires.

Some of the incensed locals asserted that gunfire caused the deaths of some people who had gone to the banks to withdraw cash.