Kidnapping: Women Protest Against DPO, Close Shops ln Delta

Over 50 women, mainly aged, yesterday protested and danced across some major streets in Abraka, Delta State over incessant abductions in the area.

The protesters said they were fed up with the incessant abductions in the area and asked the authorities to put an immediate end to the trend.

The protesters alleged that the operatives of Abraka police station, led by the Divisional Police Officer, SP Fabian Ayameh, have not been living up to expectations as they are more inclined to apprehend young boys in the area.

Motorists plying the express road linking Abraka town to Obiaruku community in Delta State were delayed for several hours due to the roadblocks created with tree stems by protesting aged women.

The protesters refused to open their shops, saying something urgent needs to be done to change the narrative.

The protesters carried placards with several inscriptions such as “End kidnapping in Abraka,” “Enough is Enough”, “DPO Must Go,” and “Hardship Is Unbearable.”

The protesters decried the incessant attacks by gunmen and other criminals in their communities, alleging that there was no day that their communities were not under attack by gunmen and kidnappers.

They added that some residents in the area have relocated to other neighbouring communities, hindering the area’s growth.

They appealed to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and the Delta State Police Commissioner to redeploy the Superintendent of Police and DPO in charge of Abraka so as to restore calm and revive economic activities in the area.

Speaking to journalists, one of the leaders of the protesters, Mrs Gloria Edah, said the protest was about the rise in kidnap and incessant robbery operations in the community.

“The kidnappers demand as much as N20m before the release of victims. Recently, a youth was kidnapped, killed and buried in one of the farms.

“The DPO is not doing enough and must be asked to leave the community. The police authority in the state should do the needful,” she stated.

She prayed that those behind the insecurity situation in the community would be destroyed.