Youths in Lafia on Monday barricaded the busy Abuja-Makurdi road as workers embarked on a nationwide strike to force the government to revert the price of petrol to N65 per litre.
The protesters said the fuel subsidy removal had brought untold hardship to the ordinary Nigerians.
In Yenagoa, the Bayelsa Police Command barred members of the civil society organisations and the organised labour from embarking on street protests.
Civil society organisations which came out as early as 7.30 a.m. were turned back at their take-off point at the Opolo Secondary School field in the state capital by stern-looking policemen in several patrol vans and an armoured personnel carrier.
As a result of the development, the organisations, led by Vice-Chairman Williams-Odonmini Flint, addressed newsmen at the NUJ Press Centre, saying they were surprised at the action because they had earlier written to the police and other security agencies on the planned rally.
Flint said that they had no option than to join in the protest against the fuel subsidy removal “based on the multiplier effects and the hardship the action would have on the masses of the country’’.
When contacted, the Commissioner of Police, Mr Hilary Opara, said that the organisations were stopped from embarking on street protests and demonstrations “ because security intelligence does not allow for that; that is why we asked them to go and address the press at the NUJ’’.
Meanwhile, anti-riot policemen were seen at strategic locations in Yenagoa, as many private business concerns and banks complied with the labour decision to shut down.
The state capital, however, remained peaceful.
In Gombe, socio-economic activities were brought to a halt as workers and entrepreneurs joined the nationwide strike.
Workers were joined by commercial motorcyclists, traders, artisans and other organised groups, calling on the government to rescind its decision.
The NLC Chairman in the state, Mr Ahmed Maisakala, who addressed the workers around 9.40 a.m., said the entire workers in Gombe were against the fuel subsidy policy.
He urged the government to revert to the old price of N65 per litre.
The demonstrators moved to the palace of the Emir of Gombe, Alhaji Shehu Abubakar, to deliver their message.
Motor parks, filling stations, government offices and other business premises were closed, while leaves could be seen on most of the offices.
In Ilorin, the NLC and civil society organisations, including the Nigerian Association of Nigerian Students, staged a peaceful protest through major streets such as Anjorin, Murtala, Post Office Roundabout and Ahmadu Bello Way.
Police, soldiers and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) officials patrolled the major streets with their trucks to forestall any breakdown of law and order.
All major roads and streets were deserted while vehicular movement was light.
Three air force jets hovered over the Kwara capital as early as 7 a.m.
The leader of the labour and civil society coalition group, Prof. Poju Akinyanju, urged the Federal Government, in an interview, to revert to the old fuel price.
He lauded members of the coalition for the peaceful manner in which they carried out the mass protest.
Akinyanju also commended the security agencies, including the police, NSCDC and the military, for their understanding and for not provoking the protesters.
He applauded the stance of the House of Representatives, urging the Federal Government to stop the removal of fuel subsidy and resume dialogue with labour and civil society organisations in the interest of peace.
In the Awka metropolis, the state and federal offices as well as banks were shut in compliance with the NLC directive.
All the filling stations also locked their gates.
Markets in the state capital opened for business while commercial vehicle drivers operated but many of them complained that their vehicles would soon be parked due to non-availability of fuel.
No untoward incident had so far been recorded as security men were seen at strategic points trying to maintain law and order.
Similarly, workers in Adamawa complied with the nationwide strike directive, as banks and government offices in Yola and remained closed.
The main market in the town was also shut but corner shop owners and petty traders such as vegetable and fruit sellers could be seen going about their normal businesses.
Commercial motorcyclists and buses plying the popular Yola-Jimeta Road were also seen going about with their passengers but at the main motor park for long distance journeys, the story was different following compliance by the drivers who withdrew their services.
Security men comprising soldiers, police and civil defence officials could be seen all over the capital on red alert.
The Adamawa NLC Chairman, Mr Dauda Maina, said that in view of the prevailing security challenges facing the state, all the organised labour could do was to appeal to private business owners who had yet to join the strike to do so in solidarity with other Nigerians.
Social and economic activities were paralysed in the Bauchi metropolis, as residents took to the major streets protesting the removal of fuel subsidy.
A correspondent who went round the town reports that the protesters, carrying leaves, disrupted the flow of traffic.
They also carried placards, some of which read “we are not in support of subsidy removal, count us out’’ and “subsidy removal will bring hardship to the masses, we reject the idea’’.
The protesters also set bonfires on some major streets, just as security agents escorted them to ensure that there was no breach of the peace.
At the palace of the Emir of Bauchi, Dr Rilwanu Adamu, the NLC Chairman in the state, Malam Hashimu Gital, presented a letter for onward delivery to President Goodluck Jonathan.
The Commissioner of Police in Abia, Mr Bala Hassan, said on Monday that there was no form of strike in the state.
Bala said by telephone that “I have monitored the situation in the state and the reports from my field officers in Aba show that there is not strike in the state.
“The area is calm; people are going about their normal businesses, the main markets in Umuahia and Aba are open.’’
The police commissioner advised organised labour in the state to go about their protest peacefully so that hoodlums would not hijack the protest to foment trouble.
“Abia is peaceful. We don’t want any form of disturbances to disrupt the peace we are enjoying in the state. We don’t want any form of trouble or bloodshed in Abia.’’
Hassan said that the police command deployed 3,500 officers and men to various flash points to maintain peace before, during and after the strike.
Correspondents in Umuahia and Aba report that the state secretariat and banks were closed for business, while the Umuahia main market and Ariaria International Market, Aba, opened for business.
Commercial vehicles and motorcyclists carried out their operations, while people were seen going about their normal businesses unhindered.
In Kaduna, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, the first civilian Governor of Kaduna State and a former Military Governor of the state, retired Col. Hamidu Ali, led thousands of youths on a protest rally.
Other prominent persons who joined the protest included human rights activists such as Mr Shehu Sani, Mr Tajudeen Oladoja and Mr Adamu Ango.
Addressing the crowd at the Lugard Roundabout, Kaduna, Musa called for the restoration of fuel subsidy.
Ali, a former Secretary-General of the Arewa Consultative Forum, in his address, commended the people of Kaduna for the concern shown over the removal of subsidy, urging them not to relent until the decision was reversed.
Meanwhile, business and government activities were paralysed as government secretariats, banks, markets and auto parks remained shut
Also, taxis, commercial motorcyclists and buses suspended their services, leaving people who wanted to join the protest to trek to the venue.
Reports from the South-West indicate that major streets of the state capitals were deserted while
vehicular traffic was low as many residents stayed indoors.
In Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the ever busy Challenge Road, Ring Road and New Adeoyo Road were all devoid of traffic while major markets, financial institutions and public buildings were shut.
Commercial drivers and motorcyclists were not left out as the few commuters sighted on the highways were stranded.
Unidentified youths set up bonfires on major highways such as Ife-Ibadan, Challenge and Oke-Ado-Molete while they turned back motorists.
At Mobil area of the metropolis on Ring Road, some youths wielding cudgels and other weapons attacked residents of the area, stealing handsets and looting goods from roadside stores.
A correspondent, who was in the area, reports that the two policemen at the scene could not stop the rampaging youth.
The state government had on Sunday alleged that some politicians were planning to cause chaos under the guise of the protest.
The government said it had uncovered plans by some politicians in the state to mix with protesters to destroy government property and those of supporters of the administration.
It said that while it was not averse to protesters exercising their legitimate right, it would protect the rights of citizens to peace and order by stopping politicians who were out to wreak havoc in the state.
Stern-looking soldiers and policemen patrolled the metropolis while some guarded public institutions such as the entrance to the Governor’s Office, High Court complex, PHCN facilities and the NNPC mega station on Liberty Road
In Osogbo, the Osun capital, vehicular traffic was low as the protesters took over major highways.
Major highways such as Abere-Secretariat Road and Oke-Fia were devoid of traffic while all markets, filling stations as well as financial and public institutions were shut.
The Trade Union Congress Chairman in Osun, Mr Olatunji Oladele, said that labour had secured the cooperation of the police to ensure a peaceful protest.
He spoke in Osogbo while addressing the protesters on the need to refrain from violence.
Oladele said the police presence was at the instance of labour and advised the residents of the state to observe the restriction on movement.
Similarly, Commissioner for Information and Strategy Sunday Akere advised labour to check any infiltration of the protesters by hoodlums.
He also warned the protesters against violence and destruction of public property, as the
Commissioner of Police, Mr Olusegun Solomon, pledged that the force would enforce law and order.
In Abeokuta, the Ogun capital, commercial and vehicular activities were grounded.
The state secretariat was also shut while other government agencies and offices were deserted.
Popular Lafenwa, Kuto, Omida and Sapon markets were deserted, while banks, schools and fuel stations remained under lock and key.
The gates of state and federal hospitals were shut but few doctors and nurses were seen in the premises attending to emergency cases.
Meanwhile, protesters in their thousands had gathered at the state headquarters of the NLC at Oke-Ilewo by 8 a.m. where Mr Akeem Ambali, the state NLC Chairman, addressed them.
The protesters thereafter embarked on a peaceful procession round the major streets of the state capital as they chanted solidarity songs and carried placards.
The protesters included students, artisans, market women, youths and members of civil society organisations.
Protest was peaceful, as policemen and military personnel were stationed at strategic locations in the state capital.
Other security officials accompanied the protesters to ensure that the rally was not hijacked by hoodlums.
The procession terminated at the palace of the Alake and Paramont Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, where Ambali expressed the displeasure of the people to the ruler.
Gbadebo commended the protesters for the peaceful nature of their procession and appealed for continuous calmness and understanding.
Similarly, protesters in Akure, the Ondo State capital, took to the streets in a peaceful demonstration against the removal of fuel subsidy.
The protesters, who were accompanied by policemen, carried placards with various inscriptions.
The strike grounded commercial activities, as traders stayed indoors in compliance with the directive given by the NLC and TUC.
All banks, except the Akure branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria, were closed while markets remained under lock and key.
Both the federal and state secretariats were also closed while security operatives manned strategic locations in the metropolis.
At Orita Obele Junction, youths were seen burning tyres on the road to prevent vehicular movement while the police were on hand to disperse them. Others converted the roads to football pitches.
Mr Patrick Adebayo, one of the protesters and a director at the Justice Development and Peace Commission, called for the reversal of the fuel price to N65 per litre.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Henry Fadairo, implored the protesters to be orderly.
In Okitipupa, Ondo State, that bonfires and broken bottles were sighted on major roads in the town.
Eyewitnesses said that some youths went on rampage in some parts of the metropolis while soldiers had to disperse some protesters who tried to enforce the strike order among commercial motorcyclists on Broad Street.
Filling stations and markets, which initially opened for business, hurriedly closed down.
Economic activities were similarly brought to a standstill in Ijebu Ode, Ogun, as major markets, shops, banks and public offices were shut.
Although there were no protests or rallies, anti-riot policemen were stationed in strategic locations.
There was low vehicular movement and scores of people were seen at different newsstands discussing the strike.
In Ado Ekiti, official and commercial activities were paralysed as NLC and TUC officials led thousands of their members on a protest march to strategic places as early as 7.20 a.m.
The protest was peaceful.
The state Commissioner for Education, Dr Eniola Ajayi, said that schools which were scheduled to resume on Monday had been directed to remain closed indefinitely.
Meanwhile, the wife of the state governor, Mrs Bisi Fayemi, has suspended her ongoing tour of local government areas.
In Akwa Ibom, the National President of PENGASSAN, Mr Babatunde Ogun, said that oil workers in different locations had been directed to join in the strike but said that the oil and gas industry was peculiar.
“We have different strike compliance strategies which will ultimately leady to a total shutdown of the oil sector, the shutdown procedure takes time.
“I can tell you that the process of withdrawal of service has already commenced and we are monitoring developments and hope the government will reason with the House of Representatives and suspend the policy.
“We are not completely against subsidy removal, it is the way that they are going about it that prompted the strike,’’ Ogun said.
Chief Jude Nwaogu, the PENGASSAN Branch Chairman in Mobil Producing Nigeria, said that workers at the Qua Iboe Terminal were advised to stay at home and await directives from union officials.