By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA: The Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA has intensified its clampdown on illegal transport operators in Abuja, impounding 40 vehicles and 52 motorcycles linked to traffic violations and criminal activities, including the notorious “one chance” robberies.
Mandate Secretary of the FCT Transport Secretariat, Barr. Chinedu Elechi, said the operation was carried out by a multi-agency task force comprising the police, civil defence and others.
He explained that while commercial motorcycles seized during the raid would be crushed, vehicles would undergo mobile court processes before decisions on their fate are made.
“We don’t just impound; the owners will face a mobile court. The bikes will be crushed, but everything happens after the court order,” Elechi stated during an inspection of the seized vehicles at the Wuye command of the Directorate of Road Traffic Services DRTS.
He warned that the clampdown would be sustained as long as violators persist. “If people keep using motorcycles and unpainted vehicles illegally, we too cannot be tired of enforcement. It is an FCT task, and we will keep doing it,” he said.
Elechi linked the enforcement drive to broader security concerns in the capital, noting that unpainted commercial vehicles are frequently used to perpetrate “one chance” robberies.
“There has to be sanity. One of the major security breaches comes from unpainted vehicles. It hardly happens with painted taxis,” he added.
The Secretary also revealed plans to profile all commercial drivers in Abuja and allocate numbers to taxis as part of efforts to sanitize the sector. “If you want to operate as a commercial driver in Abuja, your vehicle must be painted and registered with a side number. Using personal cars for transport is illegal and that is how one chance thrives,” he warned.
On the newly commissioned bus terminals, Elechi said operations would begin once procurement processes for private operators under a public-private partnership arrangement are concluded.
Acting Director of DRTS, Deborah Osho, added that the seizures were due to a range of traffic offences, with unpainted commercial taxis topping the list.
She disclosed that in addition to the 40 vehicles and 52 motorcycles, four tricycles were also impounded.
“These tricycles and motorcycles are mostly linked to criminal activities like bag snatching and traffic violations. That’s why they were taken off the roads,” Osho explained.
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