About four hundred mobile policemen from Borno state police command in northeast Nigeria on Monday staged what they termed a peaceful demonstration at the police headquarters demanding improved conditions of service and seven months outstanding allowances.
The policemen who were shouting and sporadically shooting their rifles in the air blockaded the Maiduguri Jos road preventing vehicles and pedestrians from plying the road for almost five hours.
Students from nearly public school including the Ramat polytechnic and for Sir Kashim Ibrahim college of Education were also prevented from attending classes.
Similarly those living along the airport road were turned back by the demonstrating policemen who said military personnel and civilian JTF attached to the counter insurgency operations were paid while they were neglected.
Residents of Maiduguri were dumb founded by this unprecedented development expressing fears that if the situation is not handled well, terrorists lurking in the neighborhood will take advantage of the situation.
Efforts to get the police high command through the public relations officer proved abortive as calls put to his mobile phone were not answered and postings in the police whatsapp page were also un-replied.