Olamilekan Lartey, Doyin Adebusuyi, and Hassan Adenike

Two of the victims died on the spot around the King’s Square area of the city when a commercial motorcyclist (okada) ran into a bus while trying to avoid the protesters, comprising mostly University of Benin students.

The third was said to have been taken to an undisclosed hospital where he later passed on.

Many people were also injured around the Oba Market as miscreants seized the opportunity to loot.

The state House of Assembly at the famous Ring Road was ransacked and workers forced to flee .

Also, many private and government vehicles as well as commercial motorcycles were hijacked by the demonstrators during the protest which started around 8am

Bottles and other improvised weapons were freely used as okada riders resisted the attempt by the protesters to take their motorcycles forcibly from them.

Sounds of gunfire reverberated intermittently from different parts of Benin as policemen tried to contain the riot .

Panic-stricken motorists placed leaves on their windscreens in solidarity with the protesters who later made their way to the Government House in a convoy of seized vehicles.

Our correspondent reported that, for almost an hour, armed security operatives at the main gate of the Government House tried to keep the protesters at bay.

The students were later addressed by the Deputy-Governor, Chief Mike Ogiadomhe; the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Osagie Ize-Iyamu; the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Chief David Iyoha; and other top government officials.

Ogiadomhe advised them to always avoid endangering lives and damaging property when protesting.

He said, “It hurts me. It hurts the governor (Lucky Igbinedion) just as it hurts you. But what you are doing will further empower us to help our people. We must ensure, however, that there is no damage or destruction to lives and property.”

The students had demanded a reversal to the old pump prices of fuel to avert an imminent strike by the local chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

Meanwhile, commercial banks in Ilorin, Kwara State witnessed a large turnout of customers on Monday and Tuesday as the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress called on the residents to prepare for a strike.

Some of the customers, who said they supported the NLC, added that they needed to pile up foodstuffs ahead of the planned strike.

One of them, Mr. Segun Olabiyi, said, “I support the NLC and other human rights groups in calling on Nigerians to resist this inhuman action of the Olusegun Obasanjo-led administration.”

The state NLC had in a statement called on the residents to be ready to join other “progressively- minded” Nigerians to resist the new fuel prices.

The statement by the Chairman, Mr. Emmanuel Ayeoribe, described the new prices as another “round of unnecessary attack on Nigerians under the deceptive defence of market force modulation.”

It added, “It is now clear that President Olusegun Obasanjo and his cabinet have lost touch with the people. This latest increase is a flagrant betrayal of the trust vested in the government.

“It also demonstrates President Obasanjo’s pathological hatred for the masses of Nigeria. Clearly, President Obasanjo is no longer in control of this government.”

In Lagos, the Public Relations Manager and Coordinator of Chanchangi Airways, Alhaji Muhammed Tukur, said that the new fuel prices could result in higher airfares.

He said, “The rise in the cost of petroleum products will also lead to a rise in jet A1 or aviation oil and this will affect the industry.”

The PUNCH, Wednesday August 31, 2005