Women protest in Ondo over killings, abduction of 9 surveyors

Hundreds of women in Akure, the Ondo State capital, took to the streets on Tuesday to protest the ongoing killings and abductions in the area. The protest was sparked by the recent kidnapping of nine people in Akure North Local Government Area.

The victims, who were surveyors working at a site in Ilu-Abo, were abducted by gunmen last week.

Armed with placards bearing various messages, the protesters gathered at the residence of High Chief Oluwole Omotayo, the Ejeminkin of Akure, at 9 am, calling for action against the violence and kidnappings in the region.

While condemning the surge in the rate of kidnapping in the state in the recent times, the protesters lamented that the nine surveyors were working on the site when the armed men suddenly emerged from the bush and ordered them away to an unknown destination.

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The protesters, who marched from Ijemikin in Akure to the governor’s office, shut the entrance of the office.

They called on Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to take quick and decisive actions in checking activities of kidnappers, killer herdsmen and other criminals who have penetrated the communities in the state.

Addressing the protesters on behalf of the governor, the Special Adviser to Governor on Union Matters and Special Duties, Bola Taiwo, said: “We shall speak with your leaders if they have reported the incident to the police.

“If they have not reported to the police, they should go there, that’s when government would act. Nowadays, any surveyor going to site should go with police escorts, if they do, no gunmen will abduct them. No one can kidnap anyone without internal collaborators.

“You shall now go back to Ilu-Abo and cry out that those who abducted the surveyors should release them. No Hausa or Fulani man can come to Ilu-Abo and kidnap without the connivance of one of the natives.

“It is your people that kidnapped the nine surveyors. We will meet with your leaders and discuss with them.”