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Romanus Ugwu
The Federal Secretariat complex and its immediate vicinities may certainly not be the most attractive spot to visit in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, but it has assumed the status of a must-stop-over for the residents of the city and visitors.
The area has become an irresistible melting point for thousands of Nigerians and foreigners due to its status as a hub for transacting government businesses with the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDGs). With almost all the federal government ministries concentrated there, civil servants, petty traders, the unemployed, robbers, fraudsters, law enforcement agencies and all other manners of human beings converge on the vicinity on daily basis.
However, the robbers, fraudsters, one chance thieves and even many others who engage in all kinds of nefarious activities may not be a nightmare to thousands of visitors and residents especially car owners and motorists at the Federal Secretariat vicinity.
Those that have sent shivers to the spines of Nigerians are the personnel of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), that inflict financial pains and trauma on them with the compulsory payment of a whopping N8000 to secure the release of their cars presumably parked along the road illegally.
Modus operandi
As early as 7.30am, armed with several towing vans and patrol vehicles strategically parked with mostly five or less occupants, FRSC personnel endlessly target vehicles without any occupant. They would whisk away the car or cars inside the secretariat’s central park near the Eagles’ Square without anything to indicate to the owners what actually happened to their cars.
On successfully towing the cars into the secretariat’s park, which also serves as the mobile court, they would immediately deflate the four tyres, register them and wait for harvest period from the hapless car owners to secure the release of their cars with amount not less than N8000.
A visit to the park would confirm that the whole setting looks like a cartel because on booking the motorists, you would be directed to a cyber café nearby, who in turn charges N500 to process the booking papers given to them and pay direct into the FRSC account.
Once the documentations are finalised, vulcanisers are always on hand to inflate the deflated tyres, which usually mark the end of the traumatic journey of mistakenly parking along the roads. The rigours of securing the release of one’s car in the custody of the FRSC traumatically takes a minimum of 40 minutes to several hours or even days.
Victims narrate ordeals
For Canada-based neurosurgeon, who identified himself as Dr Muhammed, May 2, 2019, remained a day he cannot forget in a hurry. It was a day he had a rough encounter with the FRSC operatives.
He was rattled coming out from the Ministry of Education, Federal Secretariat, to see his Toyota Camry being towed away. He came close to engaging the road safety officer in a physical combat.
He pleaded endlessly without any effect. He had deployed threat, but achieved nothing. He applied intimidation and even called his captor all manners of derogatory names, yet he met a brick wall.
Mohammed had parked along the road to visit the ministry to authenticate his O’Level result and returned in less than 20 minutes only to discover that his car was nowhere to be found: “Initially, I thought my car has been stolen only for bystanders to inform that FRSC has towed my car because I parked illegally.
“Meanwhile, I did not see any caution sign to indicate that cars should not be parked there. I was shocked to see my car behind the towing van that broke down about 100 metres from where I parked it.
“I had tried effortlessly to explain to him but he was adamantly rather busy blaming me and insisting on towing my car to their office. I don’t live in Nigeria and have not even visited the country since 2009 I left to practice medicine in Canada. I would not have known that there is such law in place especially as there was nothing to indicate that.
“This officer insisted on towing my car despite all my appeals to him. How much can you charge that you think I cannot afford to pay? He thundered and charged towards the road safety officer for a showdown. Mohammed later wriggled out of the problem without spending his money after entreaties from trouble-shooters around.
Many others were not that lucky. For one Jubril, it is still difficult to come to terms why he should pay N8000 after parking for just less than 30 minutes. Visibly rattled, he told Daily Sun at the secretariat’s central park that his anger was not that he paid the amount for parking illegally, but because his headlamp was damaged while towing his car:
“I have paid the N8000 they charged me. I also paid to pump my deflated tyres but look at how they damaged my headlamp. This is very inhuman. How can they be so insensitive to damage my car like this while towing it and nobody cared to listen to my complaint?
“Everything is wrong with their mode of operation. It would have been better to chain illegally parked cars than towing them without leaving any trace of how the owners can find them. I didn’t even spend more than 30 minutes only to come out and didn’t see my car.
“I thought it was stolen until people around told me that FRSC towed it. On entering the park they use as mobile court and finding my car with the four tyres already completely deflated, they booked me N8000. I spent extra N500 at the Cyber Café near them to make the payment. I had to pay again for the vocaliser to pump the deflated tyres.”
Another car owner who identified himself as Ossai, described the road safety officials as ‘bunch of heartless and unserious state officials.” He condemned their mode of operation: “Actions of these FRSC officials and their agents are becoming embarrassing.
“They remind me of the dark days of ‘park and pay’ system in Abuja. They have towed my car three times. I almost went mad the first time because I thought my car was stolen.
“I came out of a meeting at Ralph Sodeinde Street, in the Central Business District (CBD), and couldn’t see my car, and no one to explain to me what had happened. I was totally confused and devastated with tears flowing freely down my cheeks.
“It was a passer-by who suggested that I visit FRSC office at Eagles’ Square to check. Behold, I found the car with the four tyres already deflated. I first heaved a sigh of relief and began to ask how to secure the release. I was told to pay N8000 for parking wrongly. It was a horrible experience.”
Their areas of operation extend beyond Federal Secretariat. Leadership Online Editor, Andrew Essien, discovered too late that parking opposite a bank along Sani Abacha Way leading to Central Mosque was illegal:
“I had just parked opposite the bank for transactions and ensured that all doors were properly locked before I proceeded into the banking hall. Emerging 30 minutes later, I crossed the road but saw the space empty. Fear beclouded every sense of reasoning, making me totally numb for a minute.
“My God, not again, was all I could say, having lost my car to thieves last year. Unfortunately, I had some heavy cash on me. I was confused as to whether to proceed to make the payment, look for the car or return to re-deposit the money. I was seriously in a panic mode.
“As I made for a police patrol van parked close to the bank, I decided to first inform a bank driver standing outside who told me that it was men of the FRSC that towed my car for ‘wrong parking’. He also advised on where I should begin the search for my car. It was a big relief!
“Luckily, I found my car on getting to Federal Secretariat. I paid N8000 before they released my car to me. It was an absolutely horrible feeling.”
Car thieves on the prowl
Considering the untidy nature of the operation, car robbers seem to have taken advantage to brazenly disappear with peoples’ cars without trace disguising as staff of the FRSC.
A victim, who identified himself as Lukman, told Daily Sun that his Toyota Corolla was stolen at a location close to Labour House by certain persons claiming to be FRSC officials and its agents: “I parked my car somewhere close to Labour House, off Ahmadu Bello Way, to attend a meeting. I came back few hours later and met another car comfortably parked on the particular spot I had left the car.
“I was confused and dumfounded. In my confusion and search for my car, someone among the gathered passers-by suggested that I check FRSC office at the Eagles’ Square. I went there but could not find my car. That car has not been found since a year ago.”
We don’t enjoy towing car, subjecting motorists to hardship —FRSC
As absurd as it may sound, FRSC personnel at their Federal Secretariat park who spoke to our disguised correspondent lamented that despite the hatred and animosity the operation has brought to them, they do not get a dime from the money victims pay.
A female road safety officer said: “We understand the hardship people are passing through and even feel their pains watching them spend such amount of N8000 unbudgeted expenses but we cannot help matters. The directive is from above and they pay directly into the central account.
“The amount is so high because towing van charges N5000 for each vehicle. You cannot believe it that we are not getting even a dime from the payment the victims are making because it goes direct into our office’s central account. The charge is too much but our hands are tired. Do you know that there are days we may impound over 60 vehicles with each paying at least N8000.
“It is really becoming a cash cow for the authorities in charge and may not stop for now. And the annoying thing is that the personnel of the service are suffering despite making so much. Our allowances are outstanding and many are dying in silence.
“I think that the victims should share part of the blames. Those vehicles impounded along the roads at the Secretariat were majorly those that didn’t know that paying just N100 at the entrance would guarantee them a space inside the Secretariat Central Car Park.
“It is not as if we don’t allow people to park along the road, they can, provided somebody is inside car. As much as we continue to encourage usage of the park, we should be aware that illegal parking along the roads is part of our revenue yielding style.”
