Armed policemen and protesters mainly Area Boys and some members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), yeste-rday clashed in Lagos and Ibadan, Oyo State capital paralysing business activities in major cities.
Correspondents report that policemen clashed with the protesters in Ogba and Agege areas of Lagos State when Area Boys took adva-ntage of the situation to perpetrate criminal activities. They burnt tyres to barricade major roads and prevented people from moving about freely.
The situation, according to reports, forced the police to fire tear gas and as a result, rioting ensued but there was no casualty even as police arrested some of the protesters.
In Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the police clashed with the students of the Polytechnic, Ibadan, who were prevented from getting out of the campus to mobilise people in favour of the strike.
Correspondent, Dele Ogunyemi reports that the state police command deployed armed policemen at strategic locations in order to avert the hijack of the strike by hoodlums.
Reports from Abdullahi Tasiu in Yola, Adamawa State capital, reveals that the strike was successful, with banks and petrol stations closed, while civil servants stayed at home in compliance with the NLC directive.
Also from Rivers State, correspondent, Muhammad Ajah, reports that the strike was effective, as even tho-ugh marketers particularly observed the situation in Port Harcourt.
According to Rakiya Muhammad, the strike in Jos, the Plateau State capital, was also successful as acad-emic activities was brought to a stand still at the Univ-ersity of Jos. Also, banks, petrol stations, shops and markets were closed.
The Plateau State NLC chairman, Comrade Yusuf Zambuk, described the strike as successful and urged continuous compliance today.
From Kano, correspondents Musa Umar Kazaure and Yushau Adamu said the strike affected activities at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) and some government establishments.
However, the strike was partial in hospitals, as doctors and nurses attended to patients in some of the wards at the Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital and the Malam Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital before calling it a day at about 2 p.m.
Also, reports from Shakirat Abdulmajeed in Lagos, reveal that passengers were stranded at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, as most airlines operated skel-etal services due to the strike.
Daily Trust observed that most airlines such as Chanchangi, Bellview and EAS that normally operate five flights, yesterday operated only two out of Lagos, even as some took off with few passengers on board.
Senior management staff of the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) among other staff who did not partake in the strike helped to assist the flights yesterday.
Adelanwa Bamgboye reports that commercial activities was yesterday paralysed in Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of the country.
Barrister Gabriel Ojumah, president, Citizens Watch, in a telephone interview with our correspondent shortly after monitoring the compliance of the masses so far with the strike, said that the strike will continue till Thursday.
He said that after Thursday, two weeks would be given so that the masses can recuperate before the mother of all strikes will commence.
Correspondent Olumide Bajulaiye, who went on an-on-the-spot assessment reports that all major highways and streets within Lagos city were devoid of vehicle movement as youths and students turned every available space to football fields and recreation centres.
At the Alausa State secretariat, the whole premises was like a ghost village as all offices were under lock and key except security operatives at the oval building which houses the governor’s office and that of the Rapid Respond Squad.
The coalition of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Civil Society Groups (LASCO), yesterday applauded Lagosians for obeying the sit-at-home order to protest the hike in the prices of petroleum products by the federal government.
Addressing a press conference after monitoring the exercise round the city of Lagos, the executive director of the Civil Liberties Organisation, (CLO), Chima Ubani, said the fact that business activities were paralysed in the state shows that sover-eignty belongs to the people.
Correspondent Samson Ojo quoted him as saying that “we have seen in this case of Lagos, a mega city that went to sleep on the orders of the LASCO, as against government’s directive on Saturday, October 9, that people should stay at home to immunise their children against polio, which they did not obey.”
According to correspondent, Kayode Ajibola, the strike was successful in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, as both the state and federal secretariat remained closed while workers boycotted offices.
Similarly, banks, petrol stations, markets and commercial vehicle operators joined in the strike a situation which brought all activities to a stand still.
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