Over 60 women on Monday protested and danced across some major streets in Abraka, Delta State over incessant abductions in their area.
The protesters carried placards with several inscriptions such as ‘End kidnapping in Abraka, ‘Enough is Enough’; ‘ DPO Must Go’, and ‘Hardship Is Unbearable’.
Motorists plying the express road linking Abraka town to Obiaruku community were delayed for several hours due to the roadblocks created with tree stems by protesting aged women.
The protesters refused to open their shops, saying until something urgent is done to change the narrative.
Speaking to journalists, their leader, Mrs Gloria Edah, said the protest was about the rise in kidnap and incessant robbery operations in the community.
She said they were fed up with the incessant abductions in their area and asked the authorities to put an immediate end to the trend.
She alleged that the operatives of Abraka police station, led by the Divisional Police Officer, SP Fabian Ayameh, have not been living up to expectations as they are more bent on apprehending young boys in the area.
She also decried the incessant attacks by gunmen and other criminals in their communities, alleging that there was no day that their communities were not under attack by gunmen and kidnappers.
“Some residents in the area have relocated to other neighbouring communities, hence hindering the growth in the area.
“The kidnappers demand as much as #20m before the release of victims. Recently, a youth was kidnapped, killed and buried in one of the farms.
“The DPO is not doing enough and must be asked to leave the community. The police authority in the state should do the needful” she stated.
She prayed that those behind the insecurity situation in the community would be destroyed.
They, however, appealed to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and the Delta State Police Commissioner to redeploy the Superintendent of Police and DPO in charge of Abraka to restore calm and revive economic activities in the area.
Over 60 Delta women protest increased kidnapping in communities