Vehicular movement on the Ife-Ibadan Expressway was noticeably
light on Friday and Saturday, a development attributed to the incessant
attacks by armed bandits on commuters and motorists on the highway.
Going from Osogbo to Ikire on Friday, a Punch correspondent
observed fewer vehicles on the ever-busy road which connects the
South-West region to other parts of the country.
From Gbongan Junction to the boundary of Osun and Oyo states, there
were four police checkpoints manned by heavily armed riot police.
Before last Wednesday’s attack, which claimed the life of an
employee of the Atakumosa West Local Government Area, Adenipekun Samson,
who was shot in the neck by some gunmen suspected to be Fulani bandits,
there had been an increase in the cases of kidnapping and armed robbery
on the road.
The deceased, who was confirmed dead in a hospital as a result of
the gunshot, was said to be travelling in an unregistered Toyota Corolla
car driven by one Ismaila Olayiwola, going towards Ibadan, Oyo State,
when the incident happened.
Two commercial drivers, who spoke to a correspondent on the issue
at Naira and Kobo Junction, Ikire, attributed the light vehicular
movement on the road to the frequent robbery attacks.
One of the drivers, identified simply as Adenekan, said the
reduction in the volume of traffic was as a result of the increase in
the attack on travellers by bandits.
He said, “The number of vehicles coming from Osogbo and Ife
towards Ibadan has reduced. The attacks by bandits cause this. We can
only hope that the perpetrators will be arrested to restore people’s
confidence. Despite today being weekend, people are not travelling
through this route. People are afraid to use this road.”
A passenger waiting for vehicle going to Ibadan in the Ogo Oluwa
area of Osogbo, Kunle Adeoye, appealed that the bad portions of the road
should be immediately repaired to ensure free flow of traffic.
He said some of the bandits could take advantage of the bad
portions of the road before Wasinmi town to launch attack on commuters.
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