The Federal Capital Territory Directorate of Road Traffic Services (FCT-DRTS), otherwise known as Vehicles Inspection Officers (VIOs) has crushed 476 commercial motorcycles impounded from violators in various parts of the Federal Capital City (FCC).
Director, FCT-DRTS, Dr. Abdulateef Bello, who supervised the exercise in Abuja on Wednesday, stated that the arrest and crushing of impounded commercial motorcycles would be sustained so long as the operators keep violating the restrictions.
Bello urged residents to help government in discouraging the lawlessness of the bike riders, stating that the restrictions are still valid, and that the administration would remain committed to zero tolerant to violation of extant rules.
“We want to inform the public that the joint task team will not rest in ensuring that the menace of commercial motorcycles were completely removed from the Capital City”, he added.
Also speaking, the Senior Special Assistant to FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Ikharo Attah warned that the Federal Capital Territory Administration ( FCTA) would not relent on its aggressive Okada ban enforcement, regardless of attacks against the taskforce team.
Attah expressed shock that after the repeated warnings through different means, and crushing of over 1,000 impounded bikes some months ago, people were still taking unnecessary economic risk by bringing in droves commercial motorcycles to restricted areas.
While he confirmed that the taskforce was attacked by stone peddling mob during the enforcement exercise, he stated that the legal enforcement of laws cannot be dissuaded by acts of lawlessness and attacks of any kind.
” It is worrisome that despite all that we do on a daily basis, the activities of these commercial motorcyclists have been linked with criminal activities.
” They ought not to operate within the Capital City, but here we have been operating in total contraventions of what the law says in a modern city like Abuja.
” I thought that having crushed so many thousands of the illegal bikes, this menace would have reduced. If not that we crush them publicly, people would have been thinking that we sell them to ourselves.
” We are crushing them in full public glare and scrap is sold and the money paid into government’s account”, Attah said.
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