One Chance: FCTA impounds 40 cars, 52 motorcycles in Abuja
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has stepped up its crackdown on illegal transport operators in Abuja, seizing 40 vehicles, 52 motorcycles and four tricycles in a fresh operation.
Mandate Secretary of the FCT Transport Secretariat, Barr. Chinedu Elechi, said the enforcement was carried out by a multi-agency task force that included the police, civil defence corps and officials of the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS).
As reported by Vanguard News, he explained that while vehicles would face mobile court hearings before decisions on their fate are made, the seized motorcycles would be crushed following court orders.
READ ALSO: FCTA apprehends 210 beggars in Abuja
“We don’t just impound; the owners will face a mobile court. The bikes will be crushed, but everything happens after the court order,” Elechi said during an inspection of the impounded vehicles at the DRTS Wuye command.
The Secretary stressed that the operation was part of broader efforts to curb “one chance” robberies, often perpetrated using unpainted vehicles in the capital. “There has to be sanity. One of the major security breaches comes from unpainted vehicles. It hardly happens with painted taxis,” he added.
Elechi warned that the clampdown would be sustained as long as violators persist. He also announced plans to profile all commercial drivers in the FCT and allocate numbers to registered taxis. “If you want to operate as a commercial driver in Abuja, your vehicle must be painted and registered with a side number. Using personal cars for transport is illegal, and that is how ‘one chance’ thrives,” he said.
READ ALSO: Abuja Clean-Up: FCTA cracks down on miscreants, beggars, scavengers
On the newly built bus terminals, Elechi revealed that operations would begin once procurement processes for private operators under a public-private partnership arrangement are finalised.
Acting DRTS Director, Deborah Osho, said the seizures covered a range of traffic offences, with unpainted commercial taxis accounting for the majority.
“These tricycles and motorcycles are mostly linked to criminal activities like bag snatching and traffic violations. That’s why they were taken off the roads,” she explained.
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