Protest Rocks Ondo Over Abduction of another Nine Surveyors

Fidelis David in Akure

Some residents of Ondo State yesterday staged a mass protest in Akure, the state capital, over the abduction of nine surveyors who were returning from site in Akure North Local Government Area.

This came a day after it was reported that four communities in Akure North Local Government Area of the state were attacked by some armed men suspected to be  bandits leading to the death of over 20 people.

Although the state government denied the attack, investigation and eyewitness accounts revealed that tragedy truly occurred. The affected communities are Aba Alajido, Aba Sunday, Aba Pastor and Ademekun in the Akure North LGA.

In the latest incident, the protesters who shot the gate of the Governor’s Office in Alagbaka, Akure, carried placards with various inscriptions, chanting solidarity songs and calling for the release of the victims.

Precisely, they disclosed that the surveyors were abducted by some gunmen while on site at Ilu-Abo last week Tuesday.

The protesters who converged on Ijemikin street in Akure at the residence of the Ejeminkin of Akure, High Chief Oluwole Omotayo, as early as 9a.m., condemned the surge in the rate of kidnapping in the state in recent time.

They lamented that the nine surveyors were working on the site when the armed men suddenly emerged from the bush and ordered them away to unknown destination.

Marching from Ijemikin to the Governor’s Office, the protesters, who were mostly women, 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.

But speaking on behalf of the governor, the Special Adviser(Union Matters and Special Duties), Bola Taiwo, blamed the nine kidnapped surveyors for going to the site without security operatives.

Particularly, he blamed them for collecting huge money from their client and failed to spend money on their security.

Taiwo allegedly accused that the people of being the perpetrators of the abduction of the nine surveyors.

He 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 the government would act.

“Nowadays, any surveyors going to site should go with police escorts, if they do, no gunmen would 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 with 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.”

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, was not reachable as of the time of filling this report.