Olushola Omogbehin
Youths from Ilu-Abo community in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State have blocked the Akure-Owo Expressway in protest against rising insecurity in the area.
In the protest on Tuesday, a viral video showed the protesters carrying the body of a man who was said to have been killed on Monday night by suspected bandits.
The protesters blocked the expressway with the corpse thereby preventing the free flow of traffic for many hours.
According to the protesters, no vehicle would be allowed movement until government address insecurity affecting communities in Akure North.
The angry youths carried placards with inscriptions as: “We are dying, save our souls”, “Mr Governor, please assist us”, “Our children are in danger”, and “We cannot go to farms again”, among others.
They cried that farmers could no longer go to farm or people sleep peacefully in the area due to incessant kidnappings in the area.
The state Commissioner of Police, Adebowale Lawal, was also prevented by the youths from passing as they insisted that the protest would continue until Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa intervened.
Meanwhile, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abayomi Jimoh, while reacting to the protest and their demand, said a tactical team had been sent to the area to apprehend the bandits and restore security.
“The command has ordered the immediate deployment and establishment of a Tactical Team Base in Ilu-Abo. Joint security operations, stop-and-search exercises, forest combing, and intelligence-led raids targeting criminal hideouts and kidnapping networks have been intensified,” Jimoh said.
The protest is a response to the recent kidnap of the Secretary of Okeluju Local Council Development Area in Akoko North-West, Mr Joseph Aladesuyi, and other victim.
