Commuters stranded as soldiers take over major Abuja road ahead of protest

Commuters stranded as soldiers take over major Abuja road ahead of protest

Commuters plying the Keffi-Abuja expressway were on Monday left stranded after military officers barricaded the highway to conduct a stop-and-search operation on vehicles entering the nation’s capital.

The soldiers mounted a road block at Sani Abacha barracks before the popular AYA roundabout.

Security agencies did not give any prior warning before to the blockade that has caused a gridlock extending as far as Nyanya Bridge, more than 12 kilometres from the checkpoint.

Civil servants and traders who work in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) live outside the city centre in places such as Nyanya, Karu, Maraba and Masaka.

After hours of standstill, many of them were forced to return home.

This is coming three days to the planned nationwide protest over the current economic hardship in Nigeria.

Some youths are planning a nationwide protest from August 1 against the rising cost of living and economic hardship in the country.

Commuters stranded as soldiers take over major Abuja road ahead of protest