Just In: #EndSARS Protesters block roads leading to Lagos International Airport – ground economic activities

Nigerians calling for an end to police brutality in the country have blocked the toll gate at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos.

Lagos is a major financial centre for all of Africa and is the economic hub of Lagos State and there are far reaching implications as the commercial nerve centre is grounded to a halt for business activities.

“Lagos is the hub of Nigeria’s services sector – a segment of the economy that employs the most Nigerians”, Mr Ikemesit Effiong, Head Of Research at SBM Intelligence said Monday. According to him, the effect of the protest and gridlock, “will be counted in lost work hours, longer commute times and reduced productivity”.

He tells NewsWireNGR that the vast majority of Nigerian tech companies and stratups are clustered in Lagos As an illustration, two Nigerian fintech companies – OPay and PalmPay – raised a cumulative $210 million in funding rounds recently.

He continued, “Both are based in Lagos. They, along with the thousands of small, mid-cap and large businesses will have to deal the slowdowns and snarl that the protests are sure to cause”.

The movements and blocked toll gates had led to heavy traffic on all roads leading to the airport, as protests continue across the country.

The protesters are demanding the unconditional release of all detained protesters, punishment for erring officers as well as compensation for families of victims of police brutality in the country.

For Mr Effiong of SMB, “how long the inconveniences of the protests will be stomached by residents burdened by the daily stresses of living in Africa’s biggest city remains to be seen. If past experience is anything to go by, it might not be for very long”.

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