By Stanley Onyekwere
No fewer than one hundred and four (104) commercial motorcycles popularly known as Okada were confiscated, barely one week of intensive raid by officials of the FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS) otherwise known as Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), in Kubwa area of Bwari Area Council, Abuja.
The raid aims at riding the city of threats to lives and property from the operations of commercial motorcyclists within AYA roundabout, Mogadishu Cantonment and Nyanya axis and other prohibited areas of the nation’s capital city.
Making this disclosure in a media interview, Head of the FCT-DRTS Ministerial Taskteam, Adamu Shehu Maiwada, said the raid was a joint operation in collaboration with the Nigerian Army.
Maiwada, who noted that there are increasing accidents and sometimes death, due to reckless operations of the commercial motorcyclists in the area.
He reiterated that although that motorcyclists have been banned in terms of operating in the city and other designated places in the city, but the operators are seemly bent on causing all sort of nuisance in the city.
According to him; “Our operation started last week, in collaboration with the Nigerian Army, because of the way the commercial motorcycles from Mararaba plying one-way are trooping to the city.
“Our responsibility is to safe lives and property, not necessarily because of what they are doing, but increasing accidents and sometimes death, due to their recklessness.
“They will be riding with high speed, always colluding with vehicles. That’s why we started the work Thursday (last week) and continued this week. For now, we have about 104 motorcycles apprehended in the from Thursday till date”.
Asked whether the defaulters were warned before the raid, Maiwada said: “We done that. Since last year that we have been doing the operation.
“Sometimes we go there for enlightenment, to let them know that what they they are doing is wrong; they should not be taking one-way and avoid coming towards that Area, because it’s against the traffic rules of the city.
“So, we are warning them again to stay away from coming to those (restricted) areas especially the AYA and environs”.
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