UNPRECEDENTED SECURITY PRESENCE AT ASO VILLA GATE AS MISCREANTS TAKE OVER ABUJA ROADS EXTORT MOTORISTS

— As miscreants take over Abuja road, extort motorists

— Tension in Jikwoyi-Kurudu axis

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

ABUJA — THERE was a heavy deployment of security operatives at the entry gates of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, to avoid the invasion of seat of power by protesters.

This is as the first day of the national protest against hunger took a different dimension as miscreants blocked the Kubwa express road, in Abuja, extorting motorists and shouting ‘Bamuyi, there is hunger in the land.

At the Fire Service end as well as Supreme Court gates of the road leading to the Presidential Villa in Asokoro, there was a large deployment of security personnel comprising soldiers, police and DSS operatives who checked commuters and vehicles accessing the area.

This is, ostensibly, to ward off the daring protesters from infiltrating the seat of power in Abuja.

At the Kubwa express road, the hooligans, who were forcing every motorist to carry green leave, used sticks, planks and other hard objects to block the express road, collecting money as ‘toll gate’.

The ‘protesters’ numbering over 2000, stationed themselves in different locations from the NYSC junction Kubwa, to Phase 3 junction, Dutse junction, Dawaki, Gwarimpa to Katampe in all sides of the highway.

Despite waving the green leave as a sign of solidarity, the fierce looking yong boys within the age bracket of 15 and 25, used big sticks to hit any motorist that didn’t comply.

Vanguard correspondent, who was a victim of the extortion, was stopped on the bridge at Dutse junction and after complying with the miscreants for him to be allowed to pass, one of the miscreants jumped into his car and bolted with his phone.

It took the intervention of other miscreants, who had already collected their ‘toll gate’ from him to pursue their colleague but on under one condition that the correspondent had to ‘bail’ his phone when it was recovered.

With an agreement reached, the miscreants started pursuing their colleague-in-crime who had gone far and recover the phone from him.

After settlement had been concluded, some of the miscreants who had a field day in their extortion spree, sat on the booths and burnets of the vehicles that have been forced to be on motorcade with leave branches

The miscreants in that axis of the road, terminated their extortion at Katampe round-about.

It was gathered that around 1:30 pm about four military patrol vehicles were sited heading towards the area that the miscreants were extorting people.

It was also gathered that as at the time of filing this report, palpable tension was prevailing on the Jikwoyi-Kurudu- Karshi axis of Abuja as some protesters are seen burning tyres on the road.

Specifically, the Karshi-Nyanya- AYA road which is usually characterized by frenetic activity and heavy traffic in the early hours was deserted, even as most civil servants and traders stayed back home for fear of the negative consequences if they ventured out.

However, commuters plying the route to work at about noon, were seen making a detour to the direction from whence they came.

This came as tricycle riders were seen running helter shelter, and a large crowd at an adjoining bus stop paced anxiously in apparent loss of hope of being transported to their respective destinations.

Police officers stationed at the District Police station along Kurudu, which straddles the Army Post Service Housing Estate were seen standing in alert positions as they bandished tear gas canisters.

Some of the residents, mostly from the local community were seen watching the unfolding scenario from afar as the police got to the epicenter.

The #Endbadgovernance protest started in the early hours of Thursday August 1st with protesters around the city centre confined to the Moshood Abiola National Stadium.

At the major military checkpoint situated in the Kugbo area along Abuja–Keffi expressway, a heavily armed lone soldier was seen checking the few vehicles on the deserted road.