Following an early Monday morning protests by armed mobile policemen on the major streets of Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, thousands of students, teachers and lecturers at the Ramat Polytechnic, Kashim Ibrahim College of Education, Arabic College, Government College and Yerwa Girls Secondary Schools among others were prevented from entering their classes and academic activities distrupted.
Some of the teachers said, “They could not bear the heavy sounds of gunshots with fleeing bullets around their school premises which is a stone throw to the Police Command Headquarters, venue of the protest, hence, they have no option than to flee for safety”.
The protests according to some of the Police Officers was not unconnected with their seven months unpaid allowances in complementing military effort fight Boko Haram insurgents. The aggrieved Mobile Police Rank and File Officers insisted that their allowances be paid with immediate effect or else they will disrupt socio economic activities and other official duties at the State Police Command and other areas in the state capital. One of the protesters who did not want his name mentioned based their allegations on the corrupt attitudes of Police Authorities for nonpayment of their 7 months outstanding allowances, promotions, ill- treatment and overstayed in their Special Operations in the state. Unfortunately, some of the aggrieved protesters started shooting sporadically including teargas which led to many students, teachers, motorists and passersby running for safety to avoid being caught off in the protest.
The armed Protesters matched in their hundreds to the Borno State Police Headquarters located on the major highway in the town, where they were prevented from having access into the police complex to register their grievances. This situation led to sporadic gunshots in the air scaring motorists and pedestrians within the vicinity, as most of the major streets leading to the city were barricaded.
