There was a mass protest in Akure, Ondo State capital on Tuesday as residents hit the street protesting the abduction of nine surveyors at the site in Akure North Local Government Area again.
The protesters disclosed that the surveyors were abducted by some gunmen while on site at Ilu-Abo on Tuesday last week.
Converging on Ijemikin in Akure, at the residence of the Ejeminkin of Akure, High Chief Oluwole Omotayo in the state capital as early as 9am, the protesters in their hundreds condemned the surge in the rate of kidnapping in the state in the recent time.
They lamented that the nine surveyors were working on the site when the armed men suddenly emerged from the bush and ordered them away to an unknown destination.
Marching from Ijemikin to the Governor’s Office, the protesters, who were mostly women, called on Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to take quick and decisive actions in checking activities of kidnappers, killer herdsmen and other criminals who have penetrated the communities in the state.
But speaking on behalf of the governor, the Special Adviser(Union Matters and Special Duties) Bola Taiwo, blamed the nine kidnapped surveyors for going to the site without security operatives.
He blamed them for collecting huge money from their client and failed to spend money on their security.
Taiwo alleged that the people of being the perpetrators of the abduction of the nine surveyors.
He said: “We shall speak with your leaders if they have reported the incident to the police.
“If they have not reported to the police, they should go there that’s when government would act.
“Nowadays, any surveyors going to site should go with police escorts, if they do, no gunmen would abduct them. No one can kidnap anyone without internal collaborators.
“You shall now go back to Ilu-Abo and cry out that those who abducted the surveyors should release them. No Hausa or Fulani man can come to Ilu-Abo and kidnap with the connivance of one of the natives.
“It is your people that kidnapped the nine surveyors. We will meet with your leaders and discuss with them.”
Meanwhile, when the Spokesperson to the state Police Command, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya a Chief Superintendent of Police(CSP) was contacted on the phone, she was out of network reach.
