BY FAVOUR PERCY-IDUBOR/ BENIN
YOUTHS in Auchi, Etsako West Local Government Area, yesterday, staged a peaceful protest over the gully erosion ravaging the community, and incessant kidnapping of people in the area.
The youths converged at the popular Jattu Junction with their placards, calling on the Edo State Government to address the gully erosion and incessant kidnapping in the community. The youth, under the umbrella of Auchi Youth Council (AYC), blocked the Jattu axis of the Benin- Auchi road to draw the attention of the government to address the gully problem.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Mr Chalaman Momoh said the protest was to draw the attention of the government and relevant authorities to the challenge of gully erosion and incessant kidnapping in the community.
He said: “We are here to cry out to the government on the issue of gully erosion that is ravaging our community.
“We have written to the government and we have not gotten response. We are also having the issue of kidnapping every day. We have this kidnappers going into the homes of our people in the community and picking them unhindered”
“So we are here to show solidarity and we are calling on the government to come to Auchi to salvage the gully erosion menace and put an end to the incessant kidnapping of our people in the community,” Momoh said.
Also speaking, the Coordinator of the Edo Take It Back Movement, Mr Hafiz Lawal said no fewer than 15 persons in Auchi had been kidnapped with over N70 million paid as ransom.
Lawal, who is also the Coordinator of Coalition for Edo North Youths for Good Governance (CENYGG) listed the gully erosion sites as Utsokhwilli gully, Water Tanker Road and Auchi-Igarra Road. Lawal noted that the protest tagged: ‘Fix erosion ravaging Auchi and incessant kidnapping’ was to draw the government’s attention to their demands.
“The demands we are placing before government is the erosion ravaging Auchi, and the issue of insecurity with 15 persons from Auchi kidnapped so far.
Meanwhile, commuters and motorists got stranded at the Jattu junction on Benin-Auchi-Okene highway with a significant number of heavy duty trucks, smaller vehicles, motorcycles, and commuters on long queues at the junction.
