By Charles Adingupu
Rampaging Plateau State women in their numbers trouped to the highway on Wednesday, demanding an end to the incessant killings of their husbands and children by suspected Fulani herders.
The protesters who expressed their displeasure over the unwanton killings of the locals by unidentified gunmen, barricaded the highway as travellers were locked in traffic gridlock for hours.
Travellers plying the Jos-Abuja highway who were victims of the women’s action, were seen stranded on Wednesday as angry women and youths of Ta-Hoss community in the Riyom Local Government Area (LGA) of Plateau State blocked the ever busy road, preventing travellers from gaining access to or leaving the state capital.
The latest of killing of two persons on Tuesday night, only ignited immediate bitter past memories of their relatives who had been slaughtered by the knives of suspected herdsmen.
Members of the community lamented that killings in the area had become worrisome, prompting women and youths in the area to embark on a protest to send a message to concerned authority with a view to look into the incessant attacks.
The intervention of the local government chairman, Mr Mafeng Gwalson, in company with security chiefs, calmed down frayed nerves, ultimately persuading the protestors to vacate the highway after assurance that security in the area would be reinforced to prevent other such occurrences.
The action of the protesters led to the accident of a truck that lost control in the process of manoeuvering the barricade and eventually skidded off the road.
