Tension in Benin as angry youth block roads ahead Oshiomhole’s arrival from Abuja

There was tension in Benin city, capital of Edo state, on Thursday, following the barricade aggrieved youth mounted on both sides of the roads leading to the airport in the ancient city.

The youth in their hundreds lit bonfires at strategic spots, chanting different songs. They also defied security personnel who appealed for calm.

The situation compounded the traffic woes in the city as motorists used alternative routes. Some of the protesters vowed that the convoy of Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), would not be allowed on the roads.

Some passengers who arrived at the Benin airport during the commotion were trapped inside for hours.

But policemen eventually succeeded in pacifying them to open one side of the road to allow free flow of traffic.

The incident happened on the eve of the planned rally to welcome Osagie Ize-Iyamu, governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2016, to the APC.

While Godwin Obaseki, governor of the state, kicked against the rally, Oshiomhole expressed the desire to welcome Ize-Iyamu alongside some ex-PDP members into the ruling party,

Mohammed Adamu, inspector-general of police, subsequently ordered that the rally should be postponed.

This followed the request of the Edo state government. Philip Shaibu, the deputy governor, had visited the force headquarters in Abuja on Thursday, seeking a suspension of the programmes on the grounds that it could lead to chaos.

Security personnel cleared the road for the APC national chairman when he landed in the state.

Addressing his supporters, Oshiomhole had said he needed time to find out what the true situation was on regarding the directive of the IGP on the rally.

He also accused Obaseki of hiring thugs to disrupt the peace being enjoyed in the state.