Insecurity: Angry residents block Abuja highway over rising kidnappings, killings in Ondo
…Aiyedatiwa blames local collaborators Aggrieved residents of Isua Akoko in Akoko South-East Local Government Area of Ondo State on Wednesday blocked the busy Abuja highway in protest against the growing
...Aiyedatiwa blames local collaborators
Aggrieved residents of Isua Akoko in Akoko South-East Local Government Area of Ondo State on Wednesday blocked the busy Abuja highway in protest against the growing wave of kidnappings and killings allegedly carried out by suspected bandits in the area.
The protesters, mostly local farmers, said the activities of the criminals who have taken over nearby forests had become alarming and unbearable.
Carrying leaves and placards with various inscriptions, the residents condemned what they described as incessant attacks and killings by the suspects bandits.
They said the worsening insecurity has plunged the entire Akoko axis into fear and uncertainty.
Speaking on behalf of the demonstrators, the Youth President of Akoko South-East, Hon. Umoru Kamoru, said the violence had crippled economic and farming activities in the community.
According to him, residents can no longer go about their daily businesses without fear of being abducted or killed.
"We are tired of the kidnapping and killing of our people. Those in authority have failed to protect us. Armed herders have taken over our farmlands.
"Our farmers can no longer access their farms freely. Herdsmen have occupied our lands and nothing is being done about it," he said.
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Kamoru appealed to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to urgently deploy additional security personnel to the troubled area, warning that the situation was fast spiralling out of control.
He also alleged that some members of the community were aiding the criminals with information.
"It is painful that some people within Isua are allegedly giving these hoodlums information to strike. This has made the situation worse.
"We now leave our farms as early as 2 p.m., which was never the case before. Some of us cannot even take our mobile phones along anymore because of fear," he said
Kamoru described kidnapping as a "lucrative business" in the local government area, insisting that residents had reached their breaking point.
"Enough is enough. Kidnapping has become a daily occurrence here. We feel neglected by those in power at the state level" he said.
Also addressing the crowd, the Youth President of Isua-Akoko, Mr. Abimbola Oluwafemi, urged both the state and Federal Governments to take immediate steps to restore peace.
He alleged that another killing was recently recorded in neighbouring Ipe-Akoko, further worsening the security crisis.
Oluwafemi said the protest was triggered by the murder of a youth leader in the community, who was allegedly killed after ransom had been paid for his release - a development that sparked outrage among residents.
The latest protest came a day after vehicular activities were paralysed on the ever-busy Akure-Owo expressway by scores of angry residents who trooped the road to protest the incessant kidnappings and killings by armed men.
The protestors stormed the highway and barricaded the road with logs, causing a complete standstill as motorists and commuters were stranded for several hours.
Amid the security challenges ravaging the state, Aiyedatiwa had given a marching order to security agencies to launch an immediate and coordinated "crackdown" on suspected kidnappers terrorising residents across parts of the state.
Aiyedatiwa, in a statement issued on Tuesday the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Hon. Idowu Ajanaku, expressed deep concern over the rising cases of abduction in the state.
The governor noted that investigations conducted by the security agencies have unraveled that some of the crimes were being orchestrated with the involvement of local collaborators.
He claimed his government was aware that certain "unscrupulous elements" are deliberately using criminal activities to portray the state as unsafe, stressing that such acts would not be tolerated.
