No fewer than 20 people were arrested yesterday in raids operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) simultaneously conducted on the Ikare and Akure motorparks in Ado Ekiti. 

Those arrested included members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Road Transport Employers’ Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), passengers and hawkers who are being detained for possible prosecution.

 The NDLEA’s action sparked serious protests along Ikare and Akure roads, with drivers brandishing dangerous weapons and chasing passers-by with cutlasses, bottles, knives and clubs. The protesters threatened to make the state ungovernable if their members were not released from custody immediately.

 The protesters made bonfires on the roads, which produced thick smoke and disrupted free flow of human and vehicular movements along the two axes.

 Motorists travelling to Akure, Ikare, Ijan and beyond were compelled to take a detour away from the normal routes, causing high traffic congestion in the Ijigbo and Odo Ado areas of the capital city.

 Vehicles coming into Ado Ekiti were also stuck at Erunfun and Ajebamidele, suburbs of the capital city for several hours before policemen were deployed to the troubled sections to restore normalcy.