Protest: Drivers shut Benin-Lagos Expressway over killing of pregnant woman, others

The killing of two passengers of the Young Shall Grow Transport Service by armed robbers grounded movement on the road on Friday for several hours as a wild protest by commercial drivers plying the Benin-Lagos Expressway took over.

 

Those involved in the killing are a pregnant woman and another male passenger commuting in the luxury bus.

 

The highway was stranded for several hours, as the protesters barricaded the highway such that

commuters from both ends have no passage.

 

Vehicles conveying various newspapers from Lagos to Benin, including Complete Sport, Daily Independence, The Guardian

The Sun, Nigerian Tribune,  and Business Day could not arrive their distribution point, located at the premises of the Nigeria Union of Journalist, NUJ secretariat in Benin until 2 pm.

 

A driver with the Ezewanta Transport Service and his conductor who had sustained gunshot injuries were said to have been taken to an undisclosed hospital.

 

Mr Suleman Tajudeen, a driver of Complete Sports Van, who arrived at NUJ Press Centre at 2:20 pm, said the luxurious bus drivers blocked the road to protest the killing of the victims by the armed bandits and the frequent robbery attacks on the Benin-Lagos Express road.

 

Tajudeen stated that all appeals to the protesters to open the road for them fell on deaf ears. They insisted that they would remain this way until the government puts an end to the incessant robbery attack on the road.

 

Still speaking, Tajudeen also said that at the heat of the protest, the luxurious transport union of the zone who declared the protest went to ascertain the health conditions of those shot by the armed robbers and were told by the doctors that they were in a stable state of mind and that the sum of N35,000 should be deposited to commence treatment on them.

 

The stranded transporters and passengers were said to have been mobilised to contribute money to clear the hospital bills of the gunshot victims.

 

Having been satisfied with the response gotten from the commuters and other drivers, he said the union, decided that the road should be cleared for vehicular movement.

 

Mr Joseph Kombe,  Edo Police Public Relations Officer,  could not be reached at the time of the protest for comments, as calls made to his mobile phone were not unanswered.

 

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