Commuters and motorists were stranded on Monday at the Jattu junction on the Benin-Auchi-Okene Highway as hundreds of youths staged a protest over the gully erosion ravaging the community and the incessant kidnapping of their people.

A significant number of heavy-duty trucks, cars, motorcycles, and commuters were seen in long queues at the junction, with the police and other security personnel on the ground to maintain peace and ensure the protest was not hijacked by hoodlums.

The youths under the umbrella of Auchi Youth Council converged at the popular Jattu Junction with their placards, calling on the government to address their demands as they were tired of facing unnecessary hardship in their domain.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Chalaman Momoh said the protest was to draw the attention of government and relevant authorities to the gullies and incessant kidnapping in the community.

He said, “We are here to cry out to the government on the issue of gully erosion that is ravaging our community. We have written to the government, and we have yet to get a response.

“We are also experiencing the issue of kidnapping every day. These kidnappers go into the homes of our people in the community and abduct them.

“So, we are here to show solidarity and we are calling on the government to come to Auchi and salvage the erosion menace as well as put an end to the incessant kidnapping of our people,” Momoh said.

Also speaking, the Coordinator, Edo Take It Back Movement, Hafiz Lawal, said no fewer than 15 persons in Auchi had been kidnapped with over N70m paid as ransom.

Lawal, who is also the Coordinator of Coalition for Edo North Youths for Good Governance, listed the gully erosion sites as Utsokhwilli Gully, Water Tanker Road and Auchi-Igarra Road.

He added, “The demand we are placing before the government is that the erosion ravaging Auchi must be solved. The issue of insecurity with 15 persons from Auchi so far kidnapped calls for action.

“We are protesting to draw the attention of the government to the issue so that we can be rescued,” Lawal noted.