Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
Travellers and motorists commuting from Lagos to Abeokuta via Sango-Ota-Abeokuta expressway were stranded on Monday as the #EndSARS protesters blocked the Obada axis of the road, causing serious traffic logjam on the expressway.
When our correspondent visited the Obada section of the road, articulated vehicles, buses and cars were parked on the road as the protesters prevented them to pass through the blockade.
Travellers in commercial vehicles were forced to disembark and trek to Adigbe junction where commercial motorcyclists conveyed them through Adigbe-Opako-Panseke road into the Abeokuta metropolis.
Motorists coming from Brewery-Olomore-Ita-Oshin en route Obada on Sango-Abeokuta expressway were stopped at the Mechanic Village, a few metres to their destinations.
While some motorists were able to make detours to beat the blockade at the Mechanic Village, many were not so lucky as youths in the nearby communities locked their gates and started to extort “tolls” from the stranded motorists.
The protesters, who had earlier blocked the NNPC Junction en route Oke Mosan where the Governor’s Office and the secretariat are located, also barricaded Ibara-Omida road, a situation which made vehicular movement on the road hectic.
A motorist who spoke to our correspondent condemned the action of the protesters, saying innocent citizens and not the government were bearing the brunt of the protest.
The motorist lamented that he had spent eight hours in the gridlock and all his efforts to continue his journey fell through.
One of the #EndSARS protesters who also spoke with Daily Sun on the condition of anonymity said they had to take the protest to Lagos-Sango-Abeokuta expressway in order to make the government listen to their demands.
He vowed that the protests would continue until the government meets their demands.