Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), through its Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS), has impounded no fewer than 130 rickety vehicles for allegedly operating in the guise of commercial transport business, to perpetrate crime in the territory.
The FCTA, which impounded the vehicles during its reinforced raid on unworthy road vehicles plying the nation’s capital city within the last two weeks, said that all the vehicles would be crushed.
The FCTA DRTS director, Dr. Abdulateef Bello who made this known in Abuja yesterday during an inspection of the impounded vehicles, alleged that most of the rickety vehicle operators used them for one-chance and other related crimes in the Federal Capital City (FCC).
He explained that the rationale behind the raid is to ensure that the Directorate operatives return the city back to sanity, to remove all traces of insecurity and then, to ensure seamless traffic flow in the capital city.
“For the last two weeks, we activated evening raids to ensure the operations of all substandard vehicles plying the city in the guise of commercial business, whereas many of them are running the city to perpetrate crime.
“This is an assignment that we have taken upon us in line with the vision of the current administration to guarantee zero tolerance to insecurity in the FCT.
“This, we will continue to do. We will not rest on our oars, until we ensure that all substandard (rickety) vehicles that are being used for criminality are removed from the city,” he said.
Bello said there was a significant reduction in the rate of one-chance criminal activities in the city, due to what the directorate and other sister agencies have been doing in the last one month, to ensure that there is no vehicular businesses on the road corridors.
According to him, “We have been pushing them back to the existing taxi ranks and then for those who still want to engage vehicles outside the taxi ranks may be doing so at their own risk.”
On what to do with the impounded vehicles, the DRTS boss said: “Some of the vehicles that are here, some of them will be made to face the mobile court. The mobile court will decide the kind of penalty that will be given to them.
