Ogbonnaya Ndukwe, Aba
Suspected hoodlums that hijacked the #EndSARS protests in Aba, Abia State, have set the Aba Town Hall headquarters of Aba South Local Government Area on fire and looted office equipment, furniture and fittings in the council.
The restive youths, who defied the 24-hour curfew imposed by the State Government, had gathered early Wednesday morning along Asa/Azikiwe road intersection from where they marched, chanting war songs.
They were said to have headed for Ndiegoro (Cameroun barracks) police station and were confronted by a team of armed security operatives who fired into the air to disperse them.
As their plan to burn the police station failed, the demonstrators allegedly made a U-turn and moved straight to the town hall and met no resistance as men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) manning the gates ran for their lives.
Some residents of Aba town who witnessed the activities of the arsonists condemned a situation where youths on a peaceful protest would allow themselves to be used as tools for the destruction of lives and properties while clamouring for good governance.
No official of the Local Government was on hand to speak on the burning of the town hall, a landmark building erected in the early ’60s, as at the time of this report.