FCT Traffic Management Impounds 20 Cars For Illegal Taxi Operations In Abuja
The Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has impounded twenty vehicles for illegally operating as commercial taxis.
Deborah Osho, Head of Operations of the DRTS, said the vehicles were impounded during operations conducted on Friday at various hotspots including Area 3, Gariki-Apo Bridge, and the Federal Secretariat.
Osho highlighted the threats illegal taxis pose to residents of the city, saying not only did they violate regulations and deface the urban landscape, but also raise security concerns.
She also noted that some of the impounded vehicles were found to be unfit for the road, hence the need for intervention.
According to Osho, offenders would be brought before a mobile court to face various charges. She added that for those vehicles deemed irreparable, the DRTS would seek permission from the court to dismantle them.
“It’s not that these guys don’t have a place to go, they can enter Eagle Square and pick up their passengers there. But they have chosen to do illegal parks or to park their vehicles illegally on this route to pick up passengers. Not only that, some of the vehicles as we have witnessed are just not roadworthy. They are not roadworthy, they do not befit even to be in the city centre, yet they are all piling the city centre, defacing the city centre.
“Most of them will be handed over to the mobile court, the mobile court is the next action. They will be arraigned before the mobile court, and a pronouncement will be made, and some of them will pay some huge sum of fine before they are released.
“And those that have non-roadworthy vehicles, some of them, if the vehicles can be repaired, they will repair before they leave, before it can be released. If not, it will be butchered. We will seek the court to permit us to butcher the vehicles, that’s what we will be doing,” she said.
On his part, Peter Olumuji, Secretary of the Command and Control Unit in the FCT administration, said it was important to ensure safety and security of residents.
“When you allow such to persist, then those who have criminal intentions too will capitalise on it and that is what we have seen in recent times, and I believe that is why the DRTS has a robust platform they’ve established that, if you now want to go into a commercial venture, then there is a platform you have to register with them, and you will not be disturbed.
“But not just wantonly doing what is wrong and you want the government to close their eyes all in the name of the economy is hard. Yes, the economy is hard, but that does not mean that security and safety issues will not be tackled accordingly,” he said.