Residents block Kaduna-Abuja highway over kidnapping

The residents of Gonin-Gora in the worried Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Thursday, February 29, barricaded the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway, protesting the kidnapping of an unspecified number of people in the area.

They blocked the highway, protesting and asking the government to find solutions to the constant attacks by bandits in the area.

An eyewitness said abductors on Wednesday night through the early hours of Thursday had attacked the community, kidnapping unknown numbers of the residents.

The incident was reported to have happened from 11:00 pm Wednesday through to 3:00 am Thursday, forcing residents to a staged protest over what they described as the audacity of the hoodlums in attacking the area.

The eyewitness said, “The hoodlums operated uninterrupted for over four hours without any security operatives in sight. This forced the residents to come out this morning to protest the incident.

“We were woken up by gunshots as the bandits entered the community, shooting indiscriminately. Several residents were taken away to unknown destinations by the heavily armed attackers that invaded the area.

“They came in large numbers at about 11:00 pm and operated for several hours. The residents, mostly youths, had taken their destiny into their hands and blocked the highway, forcing motorists to be stranded before the military came in, shooting and thereafter dispersing them. It was a hectic day.”

The Joint Task Force of security operatives have been deployed to the scene to ease traffic flow.

It was reported that some community residents had fled the community, fearing the bandits might return.