• Touts on the prowl in FCT parks
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Lawlessness is on the rise in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. On a daily basis, motorists and commuters are tormented by louts who capitalise on the absence of a coordinated transportation system to prey on them.
They claim to be revenue and traffic coordinators for the various area councils of the FCT. But hardly is there anything to distinguish them from armed robbers.
They pounce on motorists, commercial and private, who drop off passengers at designated spots. They kick, beat and drag steering wheels with drivers who dare to query the reasons they jump into their vehicles.
The greater victims are private vehicle owners and these criminals have an unusual receptacle for them. They spot them afar off as they slow down to drop off anyone that hitches a ride with them. In split seconds, they emerge from nowhere and swoop on the driver. It is rare to survive the attack without parting with at least N10,000.
Since they usually move in groups of at least seven, it becomes pretty difficult to fight them. “Offenders” are dragged into makeshift offices to pay fines and issued fake council receipts. Pedestrians, who dare to interfere, risk being robbed, beaten or stabbed to death.
While FCT authorities say they are working hard to rid the territory of such undesirable elements, there is public outcry that Abuja has lost its tranquillity and is fast becoming a gangsters’ paradise.
A source at the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) said: “Yes, we do have some people working in various task force outfits and that’s about it. Harassing and intimidating people is not part of the rules of engagement.
“We are looking into that and we won’t rest until we clean up the FCT. We know criminal activities spike during yuletide celebrations. We are working with all security agencies to ensure Abuja is safe and secure. Anyone involved in crime will face the music when caught. No sacred cows.”
However, investigations by Daily Sun show that these louts work with a broader criminal network involving “one-chance operators”, kidnappers and manhood robbers. Residents insist that some louts and touts seem to have constituted themselves into “authorities” in different locations in Abuja, claiming they assist the FCTA in maintaining law and order on the roads and motor parks.
They are particularly conspicuous in Nyanya, Garki, Areas 3 and 1, AYA, Berger, Utako, Jabi, Dutse Alhaji, Bwari and Jabi park. A typical lout wears faded clothes and is always intoxicated with cheap rum. His eyeballs are usually bright red and swollen.
His speech is slurred but he is very combative. He goes about with a rumpled identity card that is barely legible. He mostly has a jack knife or any other light weapon.
The rookies among them operate on desolate roads. As they grow in the criminal enterprise and get more daring, they move into major motor parks in Jabi, Berger and Utako. These are some of the most dreaded places in Abuja, especially at dusk and dawn.
Abuja has no official transportation system. The taxis are grossly inadequate, especially during the rush hours. Hence, commuters rely on private vehicle owners for transportation services. This, perhaps, gave life to the activities of hooligans who are “lords” at different locations in Abuja.
The largely unchecked harassment discouraged private vehicle owners from helping stranded commuters. As a result motorists desert bus stops and major transit points in the morning and evening hours, worsening the transportation nightmare of residents.
A motorist, Abdulkadir Lawan, explained that first time drivers or visitors are most vulnerable to the attack and extortion by the louts: “Surprisingly, the harassment, intimidation and extortion are done in the open, while the state traffic officials sit and watch from obscured corners. That might, perhaps, justify the fears of some motorists and commuters that they work together.”
Umar Tanke is a private vehicle driver. He was attacked by two hoodlums on a bike at Jabi Park while coming out of his house at Dakibyu village, close to the park. He told Daily Sun:
“They took my valuables, notably, my phone and wallet that contained some money and debit card. My surprise was that the incident happened in the daytime and passers-by watched helplessly.”
Similar cases were reported on the street of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Utako, by some staff of Klein Pharmacy. They claimed to have been attacked by hoodlums a few weeks ago in the evening hours.
Ugochukwu Osuagwu, a lawyer, attributed the rising cases of crime in Abuja to hunger, joblessness and despair: “FCTA worsened the matter by confiscating the motorbikes of these okada men. Okada is the source of livelihood for these men. And because they must survive, crime becomes the next step to take.”
A driver, Enoch Makasuwa, was a victim twice at Nyanya: “The first experience was horrible. I pulled off the road at Nyanya to pick a friend who was supposed to accompany me somewhere in Central Area District, Abuja, on that fateful day.
“Before I could park well, some guys from nowhere appeared and immediately rushed into my car in a commando style and were struggling to remove my car key. At first, I thought they were car snatchers. But on second thought, I said such couldn’t happen in an open place where people were watching.
“While the man was struggling with my ignition key, I didn’t know one of them had opened my back door, gained entry and removed my back seat. When I asked the reason for such harassment, they said I parked to pick their passenger. ‘Your passenger?’ I asked. They said, ‘yes!’
“I tried to convince them that I wanted to pick a friend who was to accompany me somewhere in town, but they disagreed. They insisted I violated their rules and that I must pay some money before they could release me. I pleaded with them but they ignored my plea. I ended up paying N3,500, after I had spent an hour with them. It was a horrible experience.”
At Arab Junction, Utako, Naval Officer, Nathan, shared his experience: “I brought a friend to one of the transport companies to join a night bus to Ibadan. On my way back, I parked around the junction to get something only for these guys to swoop on my car.
“From where I was, I saw some guys, obviously not FCT officials but touts, removing my number plate. I allowed them to finish the job. As they were about to leave, I quietly called them to fix it back. They thought I was joking until I pulled out my discipline belt and pistol. They fixed it back with apologies.
“They have taken notice of me since then and always hail me each time they see me around. Those guys are thieves. Unfortunately, they are operating freely, dispossessing people of their belongings.
“They specialise in harassing and extorting people. Regrettably, evidence indicates that state officials are aware of their actions but are doing nothing about it.”
Esther Musa’s narrative: “I joined my fiancée to work on that fateful day. He stopped at Garki Area 3 junction for me to alight. Before he could say final words, two boys rushed in from where they were hiding. They struggled with the ignition key with him. They collected it alongside his back seat, jack and wheel spanner.
“His offence, according to them, was that he parked to drop a passenger as a private driver. They claimed that as a private vehicle owner, he is not supposed to carry or drop a passenger there. All explanations that he dropped his fiancée obviously fell on deaf ears.
“He ended up giving them N3,000 before they let him go. Most annoying part of the drama was that, while the altercation was going on, a police patrol vehicle passed. My guy was flagging them down, they looked at him disgustingly and moved on.”
She called on the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to mobilise his officials against the activities of these louts, who have decided to increase the frustrations of the people. She wanted the minister to closely monitor the activities of the officials and men of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) particularly the ones that engage in extortion of roadside traders.