Transporters and farmers under different groups have demanded compensation for the vehicles, produce, goods, and lives the #EndSARS protesters caused their members to lose last month.
The group comprises of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch of the NUPENG, National Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Road Transport Employees Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff & Cattle Dealers of Nigeria (AUFCDN) and Amana Farmers & Grains Suppliers Association of Nigeria (AFGSAN).
They made their demands in a communique at the end of a meeting at NARTO secretariat in Abuja.
According to the communique, they unanimously made the following resolutions:
“We condemn the act of looting, arson, maiming and killing by hooligans and called on the government at all levels to identify, arrest, and prosecute the perpetrators immediately.
“Government at all levels must live up to their constitutional responsibility of protecting the lives and property of all Nigerians wherever they reside in this country.
“The Federal Government should intensify its war on bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers, and insurgents so that people can move from one place to another without any fear.
“Members are unanimously demanding that governments at all levels should determine and pay compensation to all those whose vehicles, produce, goods and other assets were vandalized, stolen, or destroyed to alleviate their suffering .”
The opening part of the communique said following the #EndSARS protests that turned out to be violent in many states, particularly in the Southern part of the country, vehicles transporting passengers, petroleum products, cattle, agricultural products, and others were attacked, vandalized, and or set ablaze.
The opening part of the communique said following the #EndSARS protests that turned out to be violent in many states, particularly in the Southern part of the country, vehicles transporting passengers, petroleum products, cattle, agricultural products, and others were attacked, vandalized, and or set ablaze.
They added that products were destroyed while the driver and their assistants were either maimed or killed.
The associations expressed concerns that their drives, vehicles, and products are always the targets of hoodlums and miscreants hiding under the guise of protesters.
The groups were also worried about the extent of wanton destruction, plunder, maiming, and killing that accompany such attacks.
The social economic and political implications of the selective nature of the attacks also unsettled the associations.