Commuters and residents across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were left stranded Monday morning following heavy security deployment and barricades mounted at strategic points in Abuja over the planned ##FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest, triggering massive traffic gridlock, paralysing movement into and within the capital city.
As of the time of filing this report, motorists coming from Nyanya, Karu, Mararraba, Masaka, Jikwoyi, Karshi, and Orozo axes remained trapped in traffic gridlock, with many claiming they had spent over three hours at a standstill, unable to access the city centre.
Similar scenes were reported along the Dei-Dei, Mpape, Dutse, and Kubwa roads, where additional security checkpoints were set up, further compounding the chaos.
The disruptions followed a planned protest by Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, and other activists demanding the release of the detained leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu. Recall that the group had earlier announced plans to march to the Presidential Villa to press their demand.
Frustrated motorists voiced their anger at the barricades, describing them as unnecessary punishment for innocent citizens. At the popular Nasarawa/Nyanya boundary checkpoint, civil servants, parents, and school bus drivers lamented spending over two to three hours in the gridlock.
Some parents who were conveying their children to school expressed frustration at being trapped, unable to either proceed or return home.
Mr. Ebenezer Ulomi said, “I had to park my vehicle, take my kids out, and use an Okada just to drop them off at their various schools. Should our children’s fate be tied down because of a protest?
“If people want to go to the Villa, why should it affect those of us in the outskirts? Are they afraid people will be brought in this morning for the protest? This is punishment, and God is watching us all,” he fumed.
At the Nyanya, Jikwoyi, and Karishi axis, some civil servants were seen trekking back home, unable to find commercial vehicles to take them to their destinations.
Mrs. Akinola Oluwatosin, a frustrated commuter, said, “I left home at 5:30 a.m., but as you can see, I haven’t made any progress. It’s punishment for innocent people. Why should it be collective punishment? They know where the protesters are, why not go after them there?”
A pregnant woman, Mrs Aishat Abdul, sighted at the Redeemed Junction in Nyanya, said she had planned to maneuver her way to a clinic in Asokoro using an Okada, but it was impossible as even motorcycles were trapped in the congestion.
A student of Government Secondary School, Karu, 14-year-old Mariam Adamu, also shared her ordeal. “ I am late for school. Sadly, I’ve been in this traffic since 6:00 a.m. I’m tired and hungry. My school gate will close soon, and I don’t know if I’ll even get there today.”
Malam Usman Bako, a civil servant working at the Ministry of Agriculture, said he had to abandon his vehicle after being stuck for over two hours. “This kind of security measure shows no regard for the working class. How can they cripple movement because of a protest? This is not the way to secure a city, it’s how to frustrate its people.”
As LEADERSHIP visited the MOPOL junction, NNPC, Kugbo Bus Stops, tempers flared with more commuters abandoning their vehicles to trek.
Our correspondent further observed that shops and even open-space traders at the popular Nyanya and Karu Markets respectively, who were usually fully operational by 9 a.m., were yet to open for business, as many of them were also affected by the traffic gridlock and the attendant lockdown.
