Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
Soldiers and policemen, have taken it as a duty upon themselves to clear the blockades mounted on the various roads in Benin City by protesters to enforce compliance with their protest.
At the King’s Square (Ring Road), organisers of the protest were seen in the struggling to fix the podium, as soldiers moved to remove barricades placed by youths at the different point of Sapele Road.
Similarly, the police were also at the Ramat- Auchi bypass road to remove barricades while they also dispersed those who resisted the move with canister.
Commuters who travelled to Benin from other states had difficult time in getting to their destinations as they were prevented by protesters who barricaded the entry points.
One of the stranded traveller who identified herself as Mercy, said she was held up at the Auchi bypass for several hours after arriving in Benin from Abuja early Thursday morning.
“It was a bad experience. We were held up at the Auchi bypass and to compound the problem, the vehicle bringing us to Benin broke down close to the byepass. A cab that I got on Friday morning said he would collect N3000 and I had to wait for a bus who collected N500 from each passengers from the bypass to Ramat from where i got another bus to Ring Road”, she said.
At Lucky Way Iwogban quarter, tricycle riders were prevented from working.
This made people to make the journey on foot to their various destinations.
One of the leaders of the protest, Kola Edokpayi, said “the protest is going on successfully and other people have joined in from other parts of the city to ensure it remain peaceful”.