Gov. Umar Namadi of Jigawa on Friday imposed a 24-hour curfew following the escalation of violence on the first day of the nationwide protest in the country.

The governor, who announced the curfew in a state broadcast, described the development in the state as unfortunate.

The governor, however, approved that the curfew be relaxed on Friday for two and half hours to enable worshipers to attend the Juma’a prayer in the mosque.

“To ensure the return of peace and stability, we announced the 24-hour curfew.

“However, for Friday the curfew will be relaxed between noon and 2:30 p.m. to allow people to attend Friday prayer in the mosque.

“The situation in which the peaceful demonstration turned violent characterised by destruction and looting is totally unaccepted and it is not in our culture, therefore, we will not allow it to continue unabated.

“Together with security agencies, we will continue to study the situation and take appropriate action to safeguard the lives and property of the people against miscreants and hoodlums across the state, ” Namadi said.