Tension boiled over as residents mounted barricades on a busy highway, halting traffic for hours to vent their outrage over the killing of police officers by suspected bandits.
The demonstration, which drew crowds of young people, traders, and elders, turned the road into a theatre of defiance, with burning tires and placards demanding justice and security.
Chanting slogans and waving signs, the protesters called on the authorities to act decisively against armed groups that have terrorized their community.
Placards carried messages such as “Enough is enough,” “Protect our lives,” and “Stop aiding kidnappers.”
The protest took place in Egbe, Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State, a town sharing boundaries with Kwara South where kidnappings have become disturbingly common.
It followed a deadly raid on a police checkpoint in the community in which three officers were shot dead and their rifles stolen.
“We cannot continue to live in fear while bandits kill our protectors,” one demonstrator said. “Today we are blocking the road so the world will hear our cry.”
Community leaders accused some locals of enabling crime by sheltering kidnappers or serving as their informants, urging residents to desist from actions that worsen insecurity.
Police confirmed the attack on the checkpoint, with spokesperson SP William Ovye Aya stating that Commissioner of Police Miller Dantawaye had dispatched a tactical team to restore calm and hunt down the killers.
A resident who witnessed the assault on the officers said the attackers “came for their weapons,” describing how the gunmen overpowered the policemen during a fierce shootout before escaping with the rifles.
For many locals, however, the fear runs deeper than one incident. Egbe’s location along the border with Kwara has made it increasingly vulnerable, and residents insist that only sustained government action can end the cycle of bloodshed and insecurity in the region.