Lagos State Police Command Friday morning quelled violent uprising that sparked off around the Mile 12 –Ojota axis of the State over the ongoing cash crunch.
Sunrise recalled that States such as Oyo, Ogun, (Lagos neighbouring states), Ondo, Edo, among others, have witnessed protests over increasing frustration of Nigerians to access disposable cash as the new cash regime fully comes on stream.
The cash squeeze took a turn for the worse on Thursday, after the nationwide broadcast by President Muhammadu Buhari which made N500 and N1000 illegal while giving permission for the recirculation of the old N200 note alongside the new notes.
This means people who still had the N500 and N1000 denominations could no longer exchange it for goods and service while the N200 which was permitted to be in circulation as well as the new notes are not in circulation.
Miscreants at the early hours attacked commuters and motorists around the Mile 12- Ojota axis of the State.
Sporadic gunshots were heard from security operatives around Mile 2 Friday morning as they tried to arrest frustrated Nigerians protesting the harsh economic realities.
Sunrise gathered that parents taking their kids to schools and those going to work between 6am and 8am had to cancel their appointments as the hoodlums freely used dangerous weapons and took advantage of the chaos to rob victims.
They were said to have barricaded the roads, made bonfires with tyres and vandalised vehicles that refused to detour.
In no time, news of their activities spread through social media with calls to security agencies to quell the unrest before it spread to other parts of the state.
Security operatives, comprising riot policemen and soldiers from Operation MESA, were deployed and with warning shots the hoodlums vacated the expressway.
It was learnt that many people sustained injuries as the crowd scampered to safety while the operatives fired teargas and bullets into the air.
The shots were said to have stretched to Ikorodu and Ketu areas of the State to warn anyone hoping to forment trouble.
Confirming the incident, spokesman for the Police Command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin said calm had returned to the affected areas.
“It is true. Our men went there. Reinforcement units have been deployed.
Stay safe out there as we closely monitor and manage the situation,” Hundeyin said.
