Onitsha Tricycle Operators Join Police To Crack Down On One Chance Criminals

(Tricycle. Photo by Guardian Nigeria News)

Commercial tricycle operators in Onitsha and Ogbaru local government areas have declared their intention to work closely with the Anambra State Police Command and other security agencies to clamp down on criminals who use tricycles to carry out one-chance robberies against unsuspecting residents in the area.

The operators, operating under the Anambra Keke Drivers Forum (AKDF) for the Onitsha and Ogbaru chapters, stated that there is a need for citizens to complement the efforts of security agencies in ridding the state of criminal elements.

They also commended the Commissioner of Police in Anambra, CP Ikioye Orutugu, and Governor Chukwuma Soludo for the improvements recorded in security across Onitsha, Ogbaru, and surrounding areas.

Speaking at a press briefing held at the group’s office on Obodo-Ukwu Road, Okpoko, Ogbaru, on Monday, the chapter coordinator, Ugochukwu Adiele, flanked by the Secretary, Diribe Achuko, and other members, specifically praised the Commissioner of Police for ordering the withdrawal of officers who had allegedly been extorting tricycle operators at checkpoints.

He noted that the reduction in the number of checkpoints has had a positive effect on their daily earnings and urged the CP to sustain the directive.

He also called on leaders of other security agencies allegedly involved in similar extortion to follow the Police Commissioner’s example and put an end to the harassment of AKDF members.

Adiele recalled that in the past, members were going home with little or nothing after a day’s work due to the financial burden imposed by what he described as “pole-to-pole extortionist checkpoints.”

He said the situation has improved significantly over the past week since the CP ordered the removal of those checkpoints, and the group expressed its gratitude for the development.

In return for the relief provided, the AKDF pledged to support the police in identifying and weeding out criminal elements within their ranks, particularly those using tricycles to rob and dispossess members of the public.

The group vowed that any tricycle operator found engaging in criminal activities, including one-chance robbery, would be exposed and handed over to the authorities.

The forum also extended appreciation to other security personnel performing well in the state, including the Managing Director of the Anambra State Anti-Touting Agency, Monday Nwekoye.

They further urged security agencies to handle information provided about criminal tricycle operators with utmost confidentiality to protect their members who come forward with such intelligence.

The group also directed a plea to Governor Soludo, urging him to address the problem of illegal motor parks that have become hotbeds of extortion across Onitsha and Ogbaru.

They disclosed that operators are being forced to pay N1,000 or more daily at parks they believe have not been officially sanctioned, despite having already paid their stipulated state taxes.

The operators identified several locations including Savoy Junction, Ezeiweka Road, Nkpor Junction, Old and New Market Roads, Ede Road, and Enamel junction as areas where touts operate illegal parks, allegedly with the connivance of some government agency officials.

They called on the state government to dismantle these operations, apprehend the touts involved, and hold accountable any government operatives found to be facilitating their activities in order to restore order and sanity to the roads.