Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has impounded and crushed over 470 commercial motorcycles, after facing stiff resistance from some commercial motorcycle operators at Gosa community along the Airport Road in the territory.
It was observed that in a frantic effort to prevent their motorcycles from being impounded by the FCTA Joint Task Force, the angry commercial motorcyclists attacked and threw dangerous objects at the officials of the team who carried out a massive raid on okada operators across the territory, yesterday.
The okada operators had in a twinkle of an eye, re-grouped to launch an attack on the officials of the Joint Task Force comprising men from the DRTS, Police, Civil Defence, DSS, and the military, but they were immediately repelled with shots of teargas canisters from the Joint Task Force team.
The task force had to chase them deep into Gosa community, before impounding over 470 motorcycles in the exercise that started from the popular car wash bus stop in Lugbe, through Gosa, Bill Clinton Drive, Trademore Estate, Lugbe junction as well as Kubwa and environs.
The secretary of the FCTA Transportation Secretariat, Nya Ubokutom while addressing journalists warned commercial motorcyclists to strictly limit their operations to the areas designated for them.
He said the administration’s desire to develop a smart city devoid of all sorts of pollution cannot be achieved if illegalities are allowed to pervade the Federal Capital City.
The director of the FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Services, Abdulateef Bello said apart from the city centre, commercial motorcyclists are not allowed to operate on any of the territory’s highways noting that the administration is determined to rid the entire FCT roads of okada operators.
He warned that one of the strategies to be deployed towards eliminating commercial motorcyclists from FCT roads is arresting passengers who patronise the business.
