In a move to curb violent robberies and restore sanity to the city’s transport system, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has impounded 40 vehicles and 52 motorcycles in a major crackdown on illegal commercial operations.
The operation, which targeted vehicles used for the notorious ‘one chance’ crimes, where criminals posing as taxi drivers rob and assault passengers, was conducted by a multi-agency task force involving the police, civil defence, and the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS).
Inspecting the seized vehicles at the Wuye DRTS’ Command, the Mandate Secretary of the FCT Transport Secretariat, Chinedu Elechi, declared that the administration would not relent in its efforts.
He directly linked the use of unpainted, unregistered cabs to security crisis within the FCT.
“There has to be sanity. The function of government is actually the welfare and security. And so we’ll not be tired because we know that one of the security breaches is this use of unpainted vehicles to carry passengers. That is where the one chance thing happens. It hardly happens with the painted taxis,” he said.
Elechi clarified that while the impounded motorcycles would be crushed, the vehicles would face due process through mobile courts.
“We don’t just impound, the owners will face a mobile court. All of these things happen after the court order,” he explained.
He sternly warned violators, emphasising that the clampdown was a permanent feature of the FCTA’s strategy.
“If the people use the bikes and the unpainted vehicles, so long as they are not tired of violating the law, we too cannot be tired. So sustainability is as they violate. It’s an FCT task. We’ll keep doing it and doing it,” he said.
The secretary who unveiled a comprehensive plan to profile all commercial drivers in Abuja, said the initiative aims to ensure that every lawful taxi is clearly identifiable, thereby protecting commuters.
“We are going to have security programmes involving getting all the drivers. We will allocate numbers to all the taxis.
“If you are going to be doing transportation in Abuja, we are going to profile all commercial drivers so that everybody will know that when you are entering a commercial vehicle, it is painted, it has a side number. If you decide to use your personal vehicle to do transportation, we will come after you,” he said.
The Acting Director of the DRTS, Deborah Osho, provided a breakdown of the offences that led to the seizures.
She confirmed that the primary target was unpainted taxis, which were the preferred mode of operation for ‘one chance’ gangs.
“They were impounded for various traffic offences. We have some for route violation. We have some for driving against the traffic. And the major one is the unpainted commercial vehicles.
“You can see that a lot of vehicles around there are not painted. And those are the ones that have been used mostly for ‘one chance’,” she said.
On the impounded motorcycles and tricycles, Osho highlighted their connection to other crimes.
“These ones also are mostly used for criminal activities. You can see for bag snatching and all manner of activities in the town,” she added.
