No fewer than 15 persons have been allegedly killed in the past 12 days of the #EndSARS protest in Benin City.
The protest which started since October 6, 2020 had also resulted to the destruction of both public and private property running into several hundreds of millions of naira.
Public property attacked and vandalized are the Benin correctional centre and Oko medium correctional centre while no fewer than 40 different brand of vehicles were either destroyed or set ablaze.
Two inmates were said to have lost their lives during attempts to escape from the correctional centre.
Four police stations, namely, Oba market in Oredo Local Government Area (LGA), Textile mill road in Egor LGA, as well as Ugbekun and Idogbo in Ikpoba Okha local government were attacked and set ablaze by hoodlums in the guise of protest.
Vehicles were also vandalized at the affected police stations.
Last Friday, two persons were reportedly killed during a clash between the protesters and armed hoodlums who attacked them with a matchete and guns while no fewer than 10 persons also sustained various degrees of gunshot and machete injuries.
Also in the wee hours of Sunday, four persons were reportedly crushed to death in Benin City when a Sport Utility Vehicle ran into a group of protesters who slept on the road.
Four others who sustained serious injuries were said to have been rushed to the State Specialist Hospital for treatment.
The protesters were said to have set bonfire on the road and slept beside it, when a Toyota Highlander SUV rammed into them at about 10pm.
According to a report monitored on a local radio station, the incident occurred along 2nd East Circular Road, by Uwa Junction.
It was gathered that the driver of the vehicle was said to have abandoned it at the spot and fled for safety.
It was further learnt that the SUV was coming from the Benin – Sapele Road and approached Sakponba road by First East Circular road junction when the fatal accident occurred.
Wife of one of the victims who craved anonymity, said her husband called her about 8pm when it was getting late that he was on his way home but was held in heavy gridlock along the Sapkonba road axis between first and Sapele Road.
The woman however, said she received a call by 11pm that a SUV highlander vehicle killed four of the anti-SARS protesters and her husband, while other four young men also hit by the vehicle sustained various degrees of injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital.
Efforts to get comment from the Edo state Police Public Relations Officer, Chidi Nwabuzor proved abortive as calls made to his mobile phone went unanswered.
At on Monday (yesterday) #EndSARS protest, two persons were reportedly killed at the front of Benin correctional centre after the attack of the centre while two other persons were allegedly killed along Eweka road, close to Oronsaye and medical store road in Okhoro area both in New Benin axis of the state capital.
Thousands of inmates were alleged to have escaped from the Benin correctional centre located along Sapele road and Oko medium centre along Airport road.
