2 weeks ago
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Commuters and residents crossed the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were near stranded Monday greeting pursuing dense information deployment and barricades mounted astatine strategical points successful Abuja implicit the planned ##FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest, triggering monolithic postulation gridlock, paralysing question into and wrong the superior city.
As of the clip of filing this report, motorists coming from Nyanya, Karu, Mararraba, Masaka, Jikwoyi, Karshi, and Orozo axes remained trapped successful postulation gridlock, with galore claiming they had spent implicit 3 hours astatine a standstill, incapable to entree the metropolis centre.
Similar scenes were reported on the Dei-Dei, Mpape, Dutse, and Kubwa roads, wherever further information checkpoints were acceptable up, further compounding the chaos.
The disruptions followed a planned protestation by Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, and different activists demanding the merchandise of the detained person of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu. Recall that the radical had earlier announced plans to march to the Presidential Villa to property their demand.
Frustrated motorists voiced their choler astatine the barricades, describing them arsenic unnecessary punishment for guiltless citizens. At the fashionable Nasarawa/Nyanya bound checkpoint, civilian servants, parents, and schoolhouse autobus drivers lamented spending implicit 2 to 3 hours successful the gridlock.
Some parents who were conveying their children to schoolhouse expressed vexation astatine being trapped, incapable to either proceed oregon instrumentality home.
Mr. Ebenezer Ulomi said, “I had to parkland my vehicle, instrumentality my kids out, and usage an Okada conscionable to driblet them disconnected astatine their assorted schools. Should our children’s destiny beryllium tied down due to the fact that of a protest?
“If radical privation to spell to the Villa, wherefore should it impact those of america successful the outskirts? Are they acrophobic radical volition beryllium brought successful this greeting for the protest? This is punishment, and God is watching america all,” helium fumed.
At the Nyanya, Jikwoyi, and Karishi axis, immoderate civilian servants were seen trekking backmost home, incapable to find commercialized vehicles to instrumentality them to their destinations.
Mrs. Akinola Oluwatosin, a frustrated commuter, said, “I near location astatine 5:30 a.m., but arsenic you tin see, I haven’t made immoderate progress. It’s punishment for guiltless people. Why should it beryllium corporate punishment? They cognize wherever the protesters are, wherefore not spell aft them there?”
A large woman, Mrs Aishat Abdul, sighted astatine the Redeemed Junction successful Nyanya, said she had planned to maneuver her mode to a session successful Asokoro utilizing an Okada, but it was intolerable arsenic adjacent motorcycles were trapped successful the congestion.
A pupil of Government Secondary School, Karu, 14-year-old Mariam Adamu, besides shared her ordeal. “ I americium precocious for school. Sadly, I’ve been successful this postulation since 6:00 a.m. I’m bushed and hungry. My schoolhouse gross volition adjacent soon, and I don’t cognize if I’ll adjacent get determination today.”
Malam Usman Bako, a civilian servant moving astatine the Ministry of Agriculture, said helium had to wantonness his conveyance aft being stuck for implicit 2 hours. “This benignant of information measurement shows nary respect for the moving class. How tin they cripple question due to the fact that of a protest? This is not the mode to unafraid a city, it’s however to frustrate its people.”
As LEADERSHIP visited the MOPOL junction, NNPC, Kugbo Bus Stops, tempers flared with much commuters abandoning their vehicles to trek.
Our analogous further observed that shops and adjacent open-space traders astatine the fashionable Nyanya and Karu Markets respectively, who were usually afloat operational by 9 a.m., were yet to unfastened for business, arsenic galore of them were besides affected by the postulation gridlock and the attendant lockdown.
English (US) ·