Tracy Ohovwore, Benin City
Edo youths, who have become frustrated by the recent kidnapping and poor infrastructure in the state, blocked the Auchi-Igarra-Ibillo road, protesting the dilapidated state of the road, which is one of the major reasons for the discomforting issues.
The protesting youths also complained about the rampant kidnapping that has become a daily occurrence because of the bad roads and lack of adequate infrastructure, lambasting political office holders from the area who they said were not sensitive to the plight of the people.
The protest created gridlock on the road, as travelers, including heavy-duty vehicles, were stalled for several hours.
They also lamented the case of a chieftain of the Labour Party (LP), Okasime Olowojoba, who has been kidnapped for almost a month and is yet to be released, despite the kidnappers having already collected over N5 million from the family and friends.
One of the protesters, Paul Lawani, lamented that “We cannot continue to be slaves in our country, the government should come and tell us what they are doing.
“Akoko-Edo Local Government Area has three general hospitals, and none is functioning well; what is clear is that our colonial government knew the large size of Akoko-Edo. That is why I have cited three general hospitals. Today, Akoko-Edo is ripe for a military base, yet we have these bases in areas that may not necessarily need them.
“Is the local government chairman not aware that there is this security challenge before he was given the job? Are they not aware that one of the reasons for this kidnapping is the bad road? Instead of fixing the road, they are mounting Tinubu for 2027.
“We also want the state government to come and tell us what they want to do about this road and kidnapping.
“One of our brothers has been with the kidnappers for almost one month, they have collected money in millions; they are yet to release him.”
The protesters further accused the security agents posted to the area of not taking their jobs seriously and vowed to continue the protest until the state government attended to them.
In response, the Otaru of Igarra, HRH, Oba Adehce Saiki, sent emissaries to the protesters pleading go open the road for traffic as he had also written to the state government on the poor state of the road and level of kidnappings.
