PICTORIAL: FCTA Impounds 120 ‘Okadas’ In Abuja

As part of the ongoing cleaning of areas restricted from operations of commercial motorcyclists otherwise known as okada men, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has through a joint enforcement team raided the Abuja City Centre and locations like Kubwa Expressway axis of the FCT.

The team comprising of FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS), police, military and paramilitary agencies, stormed the streets and went after the okada men involved in violating traffic rules and causing other incidents in the territory.

Some of the areas raided include Garki Area 1 and 3, Guzape, Durumi 1, 2 and 3, Mpape Junction, Asokoro as well as the Kubwa axis of the nation’s capital city where motorcycles were confiscated.

DRTS Head of Operation, Deborah Osho, while explaining the exercise described the raid as routine activity that will be continuous.

Osho said as long as Okada men continue violating the traffic rules by plying where their activities are banned, the enforcement team will continue to be confiscating them until the court gives the nod to crush them.

“We were able to clean the city centre and along the expressway of the menace of okada and their activities, coming into the city centre, causing a lot of traffic and other vices that are violating the traffic rules.

“We were able to take about 120 bikes today. By tomorrow, we will be on the road again, hunting for them, because as long as they’re adamant, we will also not be tired of going after them.

“The confiscated bikes, we always approach the Court for an order of forfeiture, and once the order comes, we will crush them,” she stated.

Also, the Secretary of the FCT Command and Control Centre of the Security Services Department, Dr. Peter Olumuji noted the crime rate being perpetrated by the use of commercial motorcycles has reduced drastically.

Olumuji added that the FCT Commissioner of Police, CP Benneth Igweh has reinstated where the Okada men are not permitted to operate.

Ge added that as long as the riders decide to disobey that law, they should also be ready to face the music.

Olumuji said the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike is only passionate about the security of the lives of the residents of FCT.

He noted that this is a sustained operation to ensure that the security within the FCT improves and better than what was obtainable in the past.

“It is a holistic approach as we have done, and all the security agencies within the FCT have been working in good synergy and that’s why we are recording this success.

“It is a joint operation with all the relevant security agencies, we have the Nigerian Police, the Civil Defence, Department of State Services (DSS) including NDLEA because we also have issues of related drug arrest as we go out.

“We have the Immigration Services because of illegal immigrants, also the Correctional Services, in case we need to put some people behind the vehicle to restrain them.

“You know that the Minister of FCT is only passionate about the security of the lives of the residents of FCT, so this is a sustained operation to ensure that the security of FCT improves better than what it used to be in the past,” he said.