Kwara: Hotelier killed, one abducted, another injured

Kara/Long Bridge gridlock: Motorists, commuters groan, lament loss of man-hour .We’re not responsible for logjam – Ogun Laide Raheem, Abeokuta Motorists and commuters plying the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, have lamented the gridlock on the Kara/Long Bridge end in Ogun State. Some of the motorists who spoke with our correspondent on Monday, said that the traffic snarl caused by the reconstruction work on the express road being undertaken by Julius Berger Construction Company, had taken a serious toll on them and their businesses. Investigation revealed that numerous potholes on the Kara Market axis of the highway have been the major causes of the traffic logjam, subjecting people to hardship and terrible effects on the socio-economic activities on the route. Describing the experience as agonizing, a commercial driver who plies Kuto in Abeokuta to Oshodi in Lagos State, Kabiru Oyedeji, blamed the construction company for causing unnecessary hardship for the road users on a daily basis. He said since the gridlock began on the road, several man hours had been lost as travelers spent hours trying to get to their respective destinations. The driver, however, called on the Ogun State Government to intervene and let the Federal Government know the unpleasant experience of the road users on the expressway, particularly residents of the state. A commuter, Mrs. Adedeji Comfort, who also spoke with our correspondent, lamented the suffering road users have been subjected to, noting that the FG and the contractors handling the road projects, ought to work round the clock to fix the road to ameliorate the situation. She disclosed that she travelled through the Ijebu Ode/Epe express road last week in order for her to meet up with a business meeting in the Ikeja area of Lagos. Mrs. Adedeji, therefore, urged the FG to expedite work on the road and put an end to the “nightmare” being experienced by the motorists and commuters. Reacting to the development, the Chief Press Secretary to the Ogun State governor, Kunle Somorin, said the state government under whose jurisdiction the road, is not responsible for the people’s agony. “It will be unfair to blame the Ogun State government for this. This is a Federal Government road and we have offered palliative to cushion the effect, including making entreaties to the contractors to take advantage of our engineers who are ready to work with them. We are offering 24-hour security for them to fix the failed portions of the road, because that is what is required”, Somorin told our reporter.

From Layi Olanrewaju, Ilorin

A 47-year-old man, Kayode Akinyemi, has been shot dead by unknown gunmen who were said to have invaded his 16-Hour Hotel in the Alomilaya area of Ganmo, Ifelodun local government area of Kwara State on Sunday night.

A statement on Monday by the spokesman of the Kwara State Police Command, SP Okasanmi Ajayi, said aside from the owner of the hotel who was killed by the gunmen, his manager, Emmanuel Olushola Ojo, was seriously injured and presently receiving treatment at the General Hospital in Ilorin, while one of the friends of the owner of the hotel who was with him on the day of the incident was also abducted.

“The Command’s Tactical teams in conjunction with vigilante and hunters have since been mobilised to the scene to comb the surrounding bushes for possible rescue of the abductee and arrest of the hoodlums, while the corpse of the victim has been deposited at the General Hospital mortuary for autopsy,” he stated.

The Commissioner of Police. Tuesday Ossayomo, the Command’s spokesman said, declared a total lockdown of the area and a result-oriented manhunt for the perpetrators of the heinous act, adding that “enough is enough for the criminals, as stringent security action is already emplaced to checkmate the activities of criminal elements in the state.”

Read also: Police, hunters foil kidnapping attempt in Osun

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