Security agents faced a Herculean task trying to control the rampaging protesters who took control of the ever busy Abuja-Keffi Highway, yesterday.
The protesters stormed the Nyanya axis of the road chanting, ‘Ba muayi’ in Hausa language meaning, ‘We are no longer interested.’
They barricaded the road at various intervals with burning tyres and threatened to burn any vehicle that attempted to convey passengers out of Nyanya Park.
Security agents comprising the police, civil defence and soldiers tried frantically to prevent the protesters from crossing to the Karu Bridge section of the highway but were overwhelmed.
The situation also left hundreds of passengers stranded at the Nyanya Park as both commercial and private vehicles were disallowed from conveying passengers while the highway became the protesters’ abode.
In an effort to ensure it did not escalate into a violence, more trucks of soldiers were deployed to bring the situation under control in order to reopen the road.
Regardless, the defiant protesters forced their way through the Karu Bridge and marched towards Kugbo towards Abuja city centre.
In the meantime, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has again called on those protesting against the President Bola Tinubu administration to come for dialogue, saying the government was ready to listen to and walk them through some governance issues that they might not have been privy to.
Wike spoke yesterday while presenting the staff of office to four newly appointed chiefs in the territory.
Commending protesters in the FCT for being nonviolent, Wike urged them to continue to resist those who will want to destroy the nation.
He said Abuja as the nation’s capital remained a precious asset to the country, noting that if the FCT was destroyed, it would have negative consequences on the entire country.
Demonstrators at the Eagles Square shouted down the Minister of State for Youths Development, Ayodele Olawande, as he tried to address them. They chanted ‘hunger dey.’
“I’m not here to fight you. I’m not here to ask you not to protest; it is your right. As I said, I’ve been to over 500 protests,” he said.
The Minister also assured that he would address the police regarding the shooting of canisters against the protesters.
Meanwhile, supermarkets and shops in some parts of Kubwa, Bwari Area Council were shut down.
A visit to Phase 3, Sultan Road, Gado Nasko Road, PW Road and environs revealed that most of the businesses, including pharmaceutical and electronics stores, were shut. Markets, banks and filling stations were also shut while major roads and streets were deserted.
A team of policemen were stationed at the popular NNPC Junction, along Kubwa Expressway. This is as the junction, which is usually a beehive of activities, was deserted by traders who market their wares in the area.
Nonetheless, a group of protesters from the DeiDei axis marched through the expressway to Dutse Junction.
Immediately after the NNPC junction, the protesters made bonfires by the side of the road.
Security personnel, including the police and the army were seen patrolling the Kubwa Expressway.
Similarly, business owners around Sokale Junction in Dutse, also in Bwari Area Council, did not open.
A business owner in the Sokale area in Dutse, who gave her name as Itohan, told Daily Sun that most people chose not to open because of fear of the unknown.
Abuja-Keffi Expressway came to a standstill as protesters converged on it, demanding an end to bad governance in Nigeria.
The protesters, who gathered very early in the morning yesterday, blocked the expressway, causing gridlock and forcing motorists to take alternative routes.
Tyres were burnt at various points along the Orange Market, a hitherto busy commercial hub.
David Timothy, a resident of Abuja, and a few others, lamented the disruption caused by the protesters but said they were in support of the cause they were fighting for.
“Our roads have been blocked due to this protest, there’s no movement, and vehicles have been made to turn back or park.
“I pray the protest remains peaceful. I am in full support of this protest because this change must happen,” he said.
Joyce Okon, who joined the protest, expressed optimism about the outcome.
“I didn’t go to work today. I joined the peaceful protest and I know that something good will come out of this. This is just day one, and we hope for something good,” she said.
Samuel Ekeh, a shop owner in Mararaba, said he was forced to close his shop due to the protest.
“I came early in the morning, but with the heat of this protest, I had to close. It’s a good thing, though, that the citizens are standing up and making their voices heard. I pray the government hears our cry.”
The protesters carried placards with various inscriptions, including “Enough is Enough,” “We Want Change,” and “End BadGovernance Now.”
