Residents barricade Kaduna-Abuja highway over kidnapping

Residents of Gonin-Gora in the troubled Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Thursday barricaded the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway protesting the abduction of unspecified number of people in the area.

They residents stormed the highway protesting and urging the government to do something over the incessant attacks by bandits in the area.

According to eyewitness, kidnappers on Wednesday night through the early hours of Thursday had attacked the community, kidnapping unspecified numbers of the residents.

The incident which an eyewitness said happened from 11:00pm Wednesday through to 3:00am Thursday, forced residents to troop out to protest what they described as the audacity of the hoodlums in attacking the area.

“The hoodlums operated uninterrupted for over four hours without any security operatives at sight. This forced the residents to come out this morning to protest the incident.

“We were woken up by gunshots as the bandits entered the community shooting indiscriminately. Several residents were taken away to unknown destinations by the heavily armed attackers that invaded the area.

“They came in large numbers at about 11:00pm and operated for several hours. The residents, mostly youths have taken their destiny in their hands and blocked  the highway, forcing motorists to be stranded before the military came in shooting and thereafter dispersed them. It was a hectic day,” an eyewitness who’s also a resident of the area, told PUNCH Metro.

The Joint Task Force of security operatives were deployed to the scene to ease traffic flow.

Our correspondent gathered that some residents of the area had fled the community in fear that the bandits might possibly return.

While reacting to the incident, the state government warned residents against taking the law into their hands by blocking roads and harassing innocent Nigerians.

The Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, said the warning followed the blockage of the Gonin Gora area of the Kaduna-Abuja Road by some protesters on Thursday morning, in response to reports of a bandit attack in Unguwan Auta of Gonin Gora general area, Chikun LGA, thus denying commuters access through the route.

The commissioner said, “The Kaduna State Security Council has warned against blockage of public roads and harassment of innocent citizens by persons conducting protests.

“This follows the blockage of the Gonin Gora area of the Kaduna-Abuja Road by some protesters on Thursday morning, in response to reports of a bandit attack in Unguwan Auta of Gonin Gora general area, Chikun LGA…

“The members of the security council, comprising the Commissioner of Police, Audu Ali, Director of Department of State Services, Abdul Adamu Eneche; Garrison Commander, 1 Division Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Muhammad Kana, and the Overseeing Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, in the company with security forces, dismantled the roadblocks erected and subsequently opened up the road for use by motorists.

“The members of the Kaduna State Security Council while interacting with community leaders, expressed dissatisfaction with the menace of blocking roads, a situation which infringes on the rights of citizens and travellers using these roads and other public utilities.”

He noted that as of the time of the security update, citizens and motorists were plying the Gonin Gora area of Kaduna-Abuja Road without obstruction.

The state command’s Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mansir Hassan, confirmed the incident but declined further comments, noting that the CP, Audu Ali and other top security officials of other sister agencies had addressed the issue involved.