Makinde orders closure of schools in Ibadan as violence trails #EndSARS campaign

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, on Tuesday directed the closure of all public and private schools in Ibadan, the state capital.

Makinde gave the directive in a statewide broadcast on the ongoing #EndSARS protests in the state.

He said: “I have directed that all schools in Ibadan should be closed from tomorrow, Wednesday, October 21, for the rest of this week.

“The situation will be reviewed on Friday, October 23, and then further directives will be given.”

The governor said the last two days had seen a new dimension to the ongoing protests against police brutality in the country.

According to him, thugs and hoodlums had taken advantage of the situation to perpetrate unrest and harass citizens going about their day-to-day activities.

Makinde added: “Some thugs are going as far as forcing people who have businesses open to close shop and join in the protests.

“We know these are criminal elements, and so, as a state, we must act to protect the citizenry.

“Therefore, we are deploying members of Operation Burst to various hotspots in Ibadan to arrest the situation and restore normalcy.

“The members of the team will continue to protect genuine protesters and their right to protest. But we cannot allow persons with ulterior motives to hijack the protests.

“We remain committed to the process of meeting the demands of these protesters.”

He also revealed that the state’s Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) had withdrawn cases against #EndSARS protesters and those in custody had been released.