Lorine Emenike
About two months after the riot in parts of Oyigbo in the aftermath of the #EndSARS protest, residents still raise their hands to walk past security checkpoints especially at the Oyigbo axis of Port Harcourt/Aba expressway.
A partial curfew is still on, as Oyigbo junction remained barricaded by the military. Some residents who spoke to our correspondent about the curfew said once it’s 7:00 pm, the road is closed for anyone to pass through and before it’s 5 pm, people around start running to beat 7 pm curfew deadline.
According to a trader who did not want his name in print, “You see most of the shops around this area, they usually make good sales towards the evenings, but once it’s 6:30pm-7 pm, they’ve all closed. How are going to make enough money to feed the children?
“Because of the curfew, we don’t stay out up to 7 pm. Before 5:30 pm, we start packing our goods so as to beat 6:30-7 pm or else if they catch me, I will pay money.
“Once it’s 6 pm, you see people running because of the army, the curfew has really affected our business so much”
Another trader: ” I go like make army dey this side o but with reason, because since wey dem dey nothing like all these thief, kidnapping, make dem dey so that people go dey do their business ”
Recall that Governor Nyesom Wike in November last year reviewed the curfew in Oyigbo to begin from 7pm -6 am after the killing of police officers and the destructions of their stations in the area. The Governor had blamed IPOD for the violence.
Meanwhile, repairs are yet to begin in Oyigbo police station which was burnt down by hoodlums in October. A military tank stands where the building use to be.
Police officers have converted lockup shops in front of the police station to offices. Scribbled on the walls of these lockup shops are write-ups like “who says there is no law, police have come back to restore law”
