{"id":43774,"date":"2021-05-24T19:28:18","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T19:28:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/?p=43774"},"modified":"2021-05-24T19:28:18","modified_gmt":"2021-05-24T19:28:18","slug":"nigerian-protesters-block-abuja-highway-after-kidnapping-surge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/nigerian-protesters-block-abuja-highway-after-kidnapping-surge","title":{"rendered":"Nigerian protesters block Abuja highway after kidnapping surge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a>–Nigeria<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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Hundreds of protesters partially blocked a highway into Nigeria’s capital Abuja on Monday after residents reported a spate of kidnappings in the area.<\/p>\n

Setting tyres on fire, a crowd barricaded a section of the Abuja-Kaduna highway in the Tafa area of Niger state, bordering the federal capital, an AFP journalist at the scene reported.<\/p>\n

“Kidnappers too much!” an angry young man shouted.<\/p>\n

A police outpost in the area, in Gauraka, was also vandalised and set ablaze by the protesters, Niger state police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun said.<\/p>\n

Marching along the highway, a dozen young men chanted: “Kidnapping must stop… We won\u2019t accept this, kidnapping must stop!”<\/p>\n

“Five days ago, they kidnapped four people, and then they came back again, yesterday, and kidnapped 16 people,” one protester said.<\/p>\n

Police later said that they and the military had dispersed the crowds, allowing traffic to resume.<\/p>\n

Police said six people were abducted in Gauraka by unknown gunmen Monday morning, and that policemen were intensifying efforts to rescue the victims.<\/p>\n