A protest in Benin and its environs has reportedly taken the lives of at least 4 protesters.
The demonstrators stormed the streets of Benin and its environs in Edo State to protest the cash swap policy put forward by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Report has it that those who lost their lives were customers of commercial banks who had approached the apex bank for the deposit of their old naira notes at the CBN’s branch on Akpakpava Road, Benin.
It was reported that two of the victims were young men and women who became victims of circumstance of police shooting in front of the apex bank’s branch.
The police officers also teargassed the protesters to disperse them.
One of the protesters, who spoke as an anonymous said he saw the lifeless bodies of the 4 victims as 3 of them quickly evacuated by police officers.
He added that the protesters protested the evacuation of the fourth victim, a young man.
Report also has it that the demonstrators also vandalized commercial banks in the areas.
Edo Police Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), marked NPF 3200 D, led many patrol vans from the Command.
The police operatives shot directly at the protesters and sporadically into the air while the displeased depositors also pelted the speeding vehicles of the security personnel with stones and other dangerous objects.
Most of the major roads in Benin and its environs were blocked by the protesters, who made bonfires on them, with motorists hanging leaves on their vehicles to prevent being attacked and to show solidarity.
Edo Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), the Chidi Nwabuzor, a Superintendent of Police (SP), could not be reached for reaction as of the time of filing this report.