Lawrence Bajah
The Federal Capital Territory Administration ( FCTA) on Wednesday vowed not to relent on its aggressive Okada ban enforcement, regardless of attacks against the task force team.
During the crushing of about 476 impounded bikes at Area 1, Garki, of the nation’s capital city, the administration made this disclosure on Wednesday.
The Director Directorate of Road Traffic Services ( DRTS) Dr. Abdulateef Bello, said the impounding and crushing of the bikes will be sustained so long as the operators keep violating the restrictions.
Bello urged residents to help the government in discouraging the lawlessness of these bike riders, stating that the restrictions are still valid and that the administration would remain committed to zero tolerance to violation of extant rules.
The Senior Special Assistant to FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection, and Enforcement, Ikharo Attah who monitored the exercise, said while the violators of rules continue to thrive in their negative attitudes, the task force will remain firm to go after them.
Attah expressed shock that after the repeated warnings through different means and crushing over 1,000 impounded bikes some months ago, people were still taking an unnecessary economic risk by bringing in droves of commercial motorcycles to restricted areas.
While he confirmed that the task force was attacked by a 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 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.
