At least one person was feared dead early Saturday morning in Ilorin, Kwara State Capital, as security task force in Kwara dispersed looters at the Kwara Shopping Mall.
The security operatives shot in the air to repel hoodlums who were hell-bent on accessing the Mall Premises.
Looting continued Saturday morning despite the curfew declared by the state Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as Kwara residents invaded the shopping mall to empty the items left in the building.
RoyalTimes reporter, Taiwo Adediran who went round town to see the level of damage done and compliance level with the curfew, said security operatives were forced to release teargas and fire shots in the air to disperse the irate hoodlums.
It was not known what happened to the victim who was found lying down unconscious in a pool of blood and a hole in the chest just as the crowd scampered for safety.
The Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq had announced 24-hour curfew in the state Friday night but many claimed that they were not aware of the curfew. The curfew was declared in a live broadcast at 11:30pm.
Governor AbdulRazaq said the 24hr curfew across the state follows several cases of violence and acts of looting on Friday night.
The governor made the announcement in a statewide broadcast late Friday night after hoodlums invaded government warehouses in Ilorin, the state capital and carted away relief materials mostly COVID-19 palliatives and other items.
After the looting, the hoodlums proceeded to the office of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) attempting access to the facility. During the process, a car driver was mobbed after hitting two of those present at the scene. The vehicle was also burnt down. There also burnfires at various junctions in the city.
Some of the hoodlums also suffered gunshots while some Custom Officials suffered various forms of injuries. All the shops at Kwara mall and some nearby shops were looted.
Shops in Taiwo road were not spared as well. One of those heavily looted was an electronic shop, Fone Mart. One of the top officials who spoke with our correspondent, Olarotimi Oshin, said the goods worth millions of naira were looted
Several other shops reported to have been looted were, however, not touched by the invaders. The security personnel at Mama Ifuoma at Taiwo shop, Mr Rasak Muritala, also denied that hoodlums invaded the building.
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