Human rights activist, Harrison Gwamnishu, has raised fresh concerns over the increasing wave of kidnappings along the Abuja–Auchi–Lokoja highway, calling on transport companies to come clean with passengers about the dangers of traveling through the route.
Gwamnishu, in a post via Facebook, stated that the activities of kidnappers on the highway have become too rampant to ignore. According to him, many passengers remain unaware of the risks since they are not active on social media.
He cited the case of a commercial driver who was abducted alongside his passengers two weeks ago, only to be kidnapped again and shot a few days later on his way from Abuja to Auchi.
“The kidnappers along Auchi–Lokoja road are too numerous to avoid. Start telling your customers the truth. Most of them don’t see our posts online to understand how risky this road has become,”.
Gwamnishu blamed the poor condition of the highway for the alarming rate of attacks noting that insecurity reduces significantly on smoother routes. He referenced past incidents on the Lagos–Benin axis which, according to him, declined after road rehabilitation.
He urged transport operators to consider halting services temporarily as a form of protest to force government intervention. “If only you can shut down your services for one week, block the road and pr°test, the government will do something. Government officials are not using that road; they fly. That’s why they are not bothered. If it happens to them, they will fix it,”.