Vehicular movement on the Lagos‑Ibadan Expressway is gradually coming to a halt. The gridlock, now almost at a stand‑still, has spread from the Mowe area of Ogun State to the Long Bridge area of Arepo following a protest that broke out on Friday morning over the scarcity of naira notes.
Our correspondent, who passed by the scene, observed a strong police presence along the expressway and saw many vehicles turning back in an attempt to escape the chaos ahead. A source in the Mowe area, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said youths have taken to the road and blocked it in protest. In a video sent to the newspaper, protesters are heard chanting “Old naira notes.” The source reported that the demonstrators resisted police intervention and threatened to set the local police station ablaze.
Earlier reports indicated that fighting erupted on the Lagos‑Ikorodu Expressway in Lagos State over the shortage of new naira notes and the hardship the policy has caused Nigerians. On Friday morning, the newspaper gathered that suspected troublemakers in the Mile 12, Ketu, and Ojota areas of the expressway took to the road, attacking commuters and creating further chaos.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) announced in a national broadcast that the old ₦500 and ₦1,000 notes were no longer legal tender, while extending the validity of the old ₦200 note for 60 days, until April 10, 2023.
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