Cyclists protest killing of members in Abuja
Protesting commercial motorcyclists yesterday caused pandemonium in Karu, a satellite town of Abuja, when they demanded police action to end the killing of members and snatching of their motorcycles.
The cyclists who stormed the Nyanya-Karu-Jikwoyi road clashed with the security deployed to contain the protest.
Daily Trust gathered that two cyclists were killed near Muslim cemetery in the area and their bikes snatched Wednesday and Saturday nights, which angered the cyclists.
A witness, who spoke to our reporter under condition of anonymity, said the melee that ensued from the protest impeded traffic flow on the road and held Sunday worshippers hostage in their churches.
"The protest became chaotic when the police were deployed to contain the protest but the protesters on sighting the police started hurling stones at them. It was when soldiers were drafted in that the protesters who were becoming riotous were finally dispersed.
"There was tension in the area as people were afraid the clash could turn into violence. Between 9:00am and 12:00pm, the road was blocked and worshippers were held up in their churches," he said.
Ahead of Eid -El-fitr sallah, a legal practitioner, Barrister Shuaibu Labaran Magaji, on Saturday, in Abuja, distributed about 500 bags of rice to some residents across Nasarawa West Senatorial District of the state.
Magaji, who is a prosecutor in the office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, distributed the rice to representatives of youth, women, elders, widows and vulnerable groups across four local governments of Toto, Kokona, Keffi and Karu under Nasarawa West Senatorial Zone.
He said the gesture was to alleviate the hardship faced by the less privileged during the Ramadan fasting and to help them to celebrate the Eid -El-fitr sallah coming up on Wednesday, May 12, 2021.