Vehicular movements, as well as other commercial activities within the Abeokuta metropolis of Ogun State capital, were partially paralysed in the early hours of Thursday following the violent protest embarked upon by members of the automobile technicians, who protested the killing of three of their members by a hit-and-run truck driver.
The automobile technicians, who in their scores, thronged the road in a disorganised manner, barricaded the newly constructed Ajebo – OGTV expressway and vowed to attack any truck at sigh and never to allow truck drivers to use the expressway again until governments evolved tangible solutions that would checkmate their recklessness in the highways.
LEADERSHIP gathered that a yet-to-be-identified truck driver had, Wednesday evening, crushed three automobile technicians to death while returning home from work on their motorcycle.
The development, however, forced the automobile technicians to storm the streets of Abeokuta metropolis in search of “a scapegoat” among the truck drivers in retaliation for the souls of their dead colleagues.
Speaking with newsmen about the incident, the Ajebo Mechanic Village unit Chairman of NATA, Comrade Saheed Arulogun, expressed frustration over the notoriety of the truck drivers he accused of lacking respect for other road users.
Arulogun further stated that between December 2024 and the first week of February 2025, at least five persons, all members of the state chapter of NATA, had been lost to the alleged cruelty of the truck drivers.
“We have observed that many of these truck drivers are on drugs, so they behave as they like on the road, they care less about other road users, and they don’t have any safety orientation at all,” he said.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the command, Omolola Odutola, confirmed the incident, stressing that “The protest emanated from the grievances of the fatal motorcycle and truck accident that occurred yesterday, 5th February 2025”.
Odutola, a Chief Superintendent of Police, however, emphasised that the situation was later put under control by the police operatives from the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), as well as three other divisional headquarters led by the Area Commander (Metro).