Women protest half naked as pregnant mother & others die in uncompleted federal road in minister of works Umahi Ebonyi state

Women of Ntsurakpa in Ohaukwu local government area of Ebonyi state early hours of Tuesday blocked the Ezzamgbo section of the Abakaliki-Enugu expressway halting vehicular movement for over 3 hours.

The women were protesting what they described as constant deaths in the area due to fatal road accidents resulting from the over- dragged and near abandoned rehabilitation work on the dual carriage road.

The women, numbering over 2,000 were praying and chanting elegies bearing palm fronds and placards with various inscriptions such as: “we are dying in silence”; “we need urgent help”; “we say no to daily fatal accidents on this road”, among others.

They called on the government and the contractor handling the project to expedite action and finish the job to end the regular carnages on the road.

A lane of the dual carriage way has since last year been overtaken by deep dug pits, heaps of stones and sand which has confined both outgoing and incoming traffic to only one lane.

The traffic congestion coupled with the pits have continued to pose untold challenges and danger to all road users operating within and across the area.

Leaders of the women: Blessing Okwoshi, Helen Nwonwe and Obiageri Owo, who took turns to address journalists lamented that the bad state of the road has led to many road crashes with multiple fatalities.

Okwoshi narrated amidst tears how two persons including a pregnant woman and a mother of three Chika Una, was on Sunday crushed to death by a truck at the spot while the third victim was still in hospital.

“They were three of them hit by the truck.

“Two died on the spot including the pregnant woman.

“It was a gory sight as the Baby struggled inside the dying woman’s womb until the both of them gave up the ghost.

“The woman’s stomach was afterwards ripped open and the foetus was separated and buried immediately while the woman is still in the mortuary as we speak”

The traditional ruler of the community, Eze Joseph Ozogbuo Okafor, while addressing the protesters in his Palace earlier, urged them to be peaceful and orderly in their demonstration.

He said the constant deaths on the road has thrown the entire community into sorrow regretting that there were no road signs from the contractor indicating the state of the road.

Two other community leaders, Chiefs Obiora Okwoshi and James Obasi described the road as a death trap, stating that they have lost count of the number of deaths caused by accidents on the road since around April last year the work started.

Okwoshi who is the immediate past Coordinator of Ohaukwu development centre wondered what was keeping the contractor so long in completing the section of the road.

He justified the protest by the woman as a “Save our Souls” mission and a means of drawing Government’s attention to the plight of the community in particuar and the Local government area in general.

“The youths wanted to embark on this protest, but I pleaded and stopped them because they could go violent.

“Thank God it’s the women because if it were to be the youths, it could have resulted to other unwanted consequences.

“The contractor should do the needful to save us from burying our people like fowls on daily basis.”

Meanwhile, the women’s protest later attracted the presence of Ohaukwu Council Chairman, Ikechukwu Odono and the state Commissioner for Capital City Development, Sunday Inyima, an indigene of the local government area.

It took them several appeals to pacify the women and convince them to unblock the road for free flow of traffic, promising to immediately take their request to appropriate authorities towards ensuring that work on the road is completed to end the carnages.