There is tension in Ikorodu part of Lagos and its environs following a riot which broke out in Mile 12 on Friday morning allegedly over scarcity of naira.
Mile 12 is a popular international foodstuff market along Ikorodu Road.
Eyewitness account said there was shooting as many civil servants and those going outside Ikorodu had to make a U-turn for fear of being hit.
“Government buses conveying civil servants all turned and returned to Ikorodu. Itowolo is also not safe. There is unrest also in Agric, Ikorodu a couple of minutes ago. But it looks calm now from where I stand,” said an eyewitness who wrote on twitter via the LagosTrafficReports.
The riot has spread to Ketu and Ojota, also along the Ikorodu Road, but soldiers were said to have been mobilised to quell the unrest.
“There are soldiers everywhere at Ojota. People are just running and we don’t know what is happening,” another source said.
Sources said the riot was in connection with the lingering naira scarcity which had affected businesses and crippled many Nigerians.
“There has been a report of sporadic shooting in Mile 12, with hoodlums setting bonfire on the major road due to naira scarcity.@PoliceNG and @HQNigerianArmy presently on ground to restore normalcy,” also tweeted another source.
The police spokesperson in Lagos, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said free movement of vehicles and people had been fully restored.
“Our officers and men are still on ground to prevent any breakdown of law and order,” he added.
He, however, said he could not immediately confirm if the unrest stemmed from the cash crunch and promised to get back to our correspondent with details.
