Petrol tanker drivers have blocked the busy Spera-in-Deo junction in Abakaliki, the capital of Ebonyi State, with their trucks.

The blockade began around 2 pm and has persisted for over an hour, with attempts to persuade the drivers to move their vehicles proving unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.

Local sources said that the tanker drivers were protesting against what they describe as ongoing extortion, exploitation, harassment, and intimidation by various state government task forces.

It was gathered that members of a notorious state government task force on traffic management placed nail-laden enforcement wood in front of one of the petrol trucks at the junction, puncturing its tyre and causing it to come to an abrupt stop.

The frustrated driver abandoned the truck and called for his colleagues, who quickly joined him in blockading the road with their vehicles, nearly resulting in an accident.

They are demanding that the destroyed tyre of the truck be replaced and an undertaking by the government that the incessant harassment of its members will stop.

The junction is an intersection of the Enugu-Abakaliki Highway and the Afikpo-Abakaliki Highway.

It is a major gateway from the two highways into the city centre and the blockade has caused a serious traffic holdup in the area.

The Senior Special Assistant on Transport to the Governor, Fred Nwogbaga could not be reached at the time of this report. (The Nation)