Commercial banks refused to open for business on Thursday in Abeokuta, Ogun State to avoid farther attacks by protesters.
Angry inhabitants had taken to the streets to protest a insufficiency of naira notes and a hike in the pump price of petrol.
The protests, which escalated on Tuesday, featured shootings and vandalisation of public and private properties.
Banks became the target of attacks across the state capital as protesters destroyed automated teller machines (ATM) at different points.
One person was shot during an attempt by thugs to burglarize a branch of First Bank in Sapon, verily as protesters engaged the police in a showdown in the area.
The mayhem reduced on Wednesday, allowing many banks to offer emaciated services.
But on Thursday, almost all the banks in Abeokuta shut their gates while long cues remained at their ATM points.
When AFLM ’ correspondent visited some banks, customers said they were only standing on cues in possibility that the machines would start dispensing cash.
A banker who asked that her name not be mentioned for fear of rebuke, said “We’re also going through a lot, even as bankers. We should n’t be the target of any protest. As I speak with you now, all of us are in our houses until farther notice and that’s how it’ll remain because this sit- at-home order is an indefinite one by our management.
Truly if we’re asked to resume at a time that I find not safe, I’ll rather relinquish.
Residents of the state capital now face difficulty as they’ve no means of getting cash.
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Students stay off During a visit to a campus of the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), our correspondent observed that attendance by students was scarce.
The Mass Communication department of the academy which is generally bustling had really few people.
A student of the department, Abimbola Sadia, said students were beforehand returning to their homes as it had become difficult to feed on campus.
Many of my colleagues have gone back to their houses, there’s no money to feed. While many of us have money in our bank account and couldn’t withdraw, others don’t have money anywhere.
For me, I only have N2,500 and I came to school today to submit an assignment and I’m going straight to Lagos from here. Let me go to my parents, they will feed me.
The President of the Student Union Government of the school, Adelola Hezekiah, said students were facing difficulty on two fronts.
Students have been going through a lot. Before now, taxi and bus drivers have been complaining about the deplorable state of the road leading to our campus and this has forced most of them to stop plying our route.
Now fuel insufficiency and pricing are the problem, while some can trek, alot of students have stayed off from the school. We appeal to the government to interfere in this inadequacy of naira and fuel crunch.
