Thursday, May 22, 2025 - More than three weeks after his abduction and the subsequent payment of a ₦5 million ransom, the Labour Party Ward 1 Chairman in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State, Mr. Okasime Olowojoba, is yet to regain his freedom.
Youths from the locality disclosed this during a protest
over the alleged abandonment and insensitivity of the government to their
plight, particularly regarding infrastructural development and the security of
lives and property.
The protesters, who numbered in their hundreds, converged on
the ever-busy Auchi-Igarra-Ibillo Expressway in the state to express their
displeasure over the dilapidated condition of the road.
The spokesperson for the protesters, Paul Lawani, lamented
that more than three weeks after the kidnapping of the Labour Party chieftain
and the payment of ₦5 million ransom, his abductors are yet to release him to
his family.
Lawani attributed the incessant kidnappings in the local
government to bad roads, especially a notoriously dangerous spot within the
Sasaro community—an area previously known for violent abductions and where the
politician was kidnapped.
According to him, a chieftain of the Labour Party in
Akoko-Edo Local Government Area, Okasime Olowojoba, who was kidnapped along the
road three weeks ago, is still being held by his captors despite receiving ₦5
million from the victim’s
family and friends.
“The poor condition of the road has led to a high rate of
insecurity and poverty in the area. Insecurity has become a daily occurrence in
the locality, causing fear and trepidation.
“We want the state government to come and tell us what they
plan to do about this road and the ongoing kidnappings in our area.
“Akoko-Edo Local Government Area has three general
hospitals, and none is functioning well.
“As of today, Akoko-Edo is ripe for a military base, yet we
see these bases being established in areas that may not necessarily need them.
“Is the local government chairman not aware of the security challenges in
the area before he was appointed by the state government?
“Is the state government not aware that one of the key drivers of these
kidnappings is the deplorable condition of the road? Instead of fixing the
road, they are already campaigning for Tinubu in 2027,” he said.
Lawani further noted that despite Akoko-Edo’s meaningful
contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Edo State, the government
has allegedly continued to treat the area like a colony.
The protesters also accused political office holders from
the locality of being insensitive to their plight.
The protest caused serious gridlock along the road, with
travelers, including heavy-duty vehicles and other road users, stranded for
several hours.
They vowed to continue the protest until the state
government addresses their concerns.
It took the intervention of the Otaru of Igarra, Oba Adeche
Saiki, who sent emissaries to the protesters to open the road for traffic.
Efforts to obtain a response from the state government
proved abortive, as the State Commissioner for Information and Communication,
Barr. Paul Ohonbamu, could not be reached by phone.
The Labour Party chairman Okasime Olowojoba was abducted by
suspected kidnappers on Saturday, April 26, 2025, along the Auchi–Benin–Ibillo
Road while on his way to Igarra from Auchi.
The victim, who is a realtor, had gone to bring his children
home ahead of school resumption on Monday, April 28, 2025.
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