There was pandemonium at the eid
praying ground in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, on Thursday as
aggrieved faithful went on the rampage throwing missiles in the
direction of the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, and other
dignitaries.
Witnesses said the protesters were
angered by the inability of the state government to pay salaries of
workers before the Sallah celebrations, rendering some civil servants
unable to buy rams for today’s Eid-el Kabir.
“Shortly after the senate president and
other dignitaries arrived, some people started throwing stones and
sachet waters in the direction of the Senate President and other
important people,”
“They started chanting Ole Ole Ole
(thief), “Pay us our salaries”, “Where is our bailout money” and “Don’t
use bailout money to service Abuja politics.”
Before long, the situation deteriorated, as some of the protesters started destroying cars and other properties in sight.
One of the vehicles destroyed is an
unmarked bus, with a federal government of Nigeria number, belonging to
the University of Ilorin.
“The protesters erroneously thought the
bus was among vehicles in the convoy of Senate President Saraki,” a
witness said. He requested not to be named for fear of reprisal.
The witness said as the violence
continued, Mr. Saraki and other dignitaries were whisked away by law
enforcement amid heightened security cover.
Other dignitaries to which the angry
worshippers directed their missiles included the Emir of Ilorin,
Ibrahim Sulu Gambari; the Chief Imam of Ilorin, Muhammadu Bashir; former
Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi; Speaker of the Kwara State House
of Assembly, Ali Ahmad; former Speaker of the Kwara House of Assembly,
Razak Atunwa( now a member of the House of Representatives); a member of
the House of Representatives, Amuda Kannike; a former National Chairman
of the PDP, Abubakar Kawu Baraje; among others.
More to come…
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