Following the relentless attacks by the Lakurawa terrorist group, angry residents of Kebbi State took to the streets on Saturday, blocking the busy Jega-Kontagora Federal Highway to protest the alarming insecurity across the North West state.
According to reports, the fierce demonstration left hundreds of motorists and commuters completely stranded for several hours as the protesters set large bonfires across the road, standing their ground even as police officers deployed tear gas to disperse the crowd.
However, reports said a wave of relief came for both the exhausted drivers and commuters as the agonizing gridlock finally broke when security forces cleared the wreckage and threw the highway gates open to restore order and let the river of trapped vehicles surge forward into the night.
Amid the worsening humanitarian crisis in the area, local residents report that multiple surrounding villages have been entirely deserted, forcing families to flee their homes en masse to escape the armed group’s frequent deadly onslaughts.
A resident of Jega, Nazeer Muhammad, informed some reporters that several communities are not empty because the repeated attacks have forced the people to relocate to safer areas, adding: “Our town is currently flooded with displaced persons, some of whom are sleeping in the open.”
According to him, reports also indicated that mass displacement has hit the town of Jega with many people trooping in from Mayama and Ungushi communities in neighboring Sokoto State.
Another Jega resident, who identified himself simply as Malam Idris, said as a convoy of about eight trucks carrying displaced persons arrived in the town on Sunday, adding: “Some of them are living in schools, while others have nowhere to shelter. They are surviving on assistance from good Samaritans.”
