The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), via its Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS), on Tuesday crushed 601 impounded motorcycles in the nation’s capital, Abuja, over traffic infractions.
Mandate Secretary for Transport, Dr Elechi Chinedum, who monitored the crushing exercise, told newsmen that the administration was acting under the regulation of the FCT.
He said: “I need to re-emphasise what the director has just said about the reason why we are here, which is to crush impounded motorcycles. As we speak, we are acting under the regulation of the FCT. The most recent regulation, which is the law on this subject matter, is that of 1st January 2023.
“It was signed into law by the immediate past administration of Mohammed Bello as FCT Minister. So it’s a law. If you use your motorbike in particular areas, it’s against the law, and that is what we are here for today. To answer your question, there’s nothing we can do apart from enforcing the law.
“All laws are made and then people take it upon themselves to violate them. Initially, when this started, it was basically for purposes of maybe aesthetics—because this is the FCT, so there has to be some kind of decent movement. But right now, it is more concerning because it is used more—I worry more about the security aspect, the criminality aspect. So we have our people on the street, and part of the work this directorate does is enforcement.
“You know, unfortunately, even you press men, when you go tomorrow and see the DRTS people, you carry more of the negative news—’oh, we have impounded motorcycles, there’s hunger in the land,’ this and that—without realising that this directorate is very important, both as an enforcement arm of the government and for security. So what we do is try as much as possible to enforce the regulation, and for good measure, it’s not to punish anybody; it is the law, and it has been made.
“So what we do is we’ll continue to put more men on the street. If you have a motorcycle in your house, we’re not coming after you. But if you put it out within an area where you’re not supposed to be, we’ll impound it. That’s what we can do. The only thing we can do is impound. No matter how strict the law is, it hardly serves as a deterrent. People will not hear; people will always take a chance. So we’re saying to the people: don’t take a chance on it.
“It’s an investment—don’t bring it into the prohibited area. If you bring it in, we will get hold of it. If we get hold of it, we will crush it. So what we’re doing is enforcing the law. The law is there, and for as many defaulters as there are, we will also put in effort to continue to enforce the law. The law is there, and if they are not tired of breaking it, we definitely will not be tired of enforcing it. All right, thank you.”
Dr Abdulateef Bello, the head of DRTS, said the essence of the exercise was to curtail traffic abuses in the territory.
He said: “This exercise has been our usual routine to support the existing ban on the use of commercial motorcycles in the Federal Capital City. You will recall that the ban was initiated in 2006. The idea then was that we should be able to control and curtail their traffic abuses in the Federal Capital City. But as it is today, it’s becoming more of a security threat—commercial motorcycles have been used to facilitate crime and criminality in the Federal Capital City.
“So we are again using this medium to send messages to those who are still investing in this line of business to think twice, because we will continue to crush motorcycles that are already forfeited by the court, to deter other people from flouting the city’s rules. So this is, again, the beginning of the year—this is the first exercise in the year. We have about 601 motorcycles that have been impounded and will be crushed today. So this is the reason why we are here.”
Mode Magawata, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Operations, FCT Command, said the FCT Minister funded the exercise to ensure that any motorcycle plying within the restricted area should be impounded.
“We cannot fold our hands because they are the people being used to commit crimes within their cities. They are criminals, they are armed robbers. They use them to kidnap, they use them to interrupt traffic flow and commit other criminal activities. So it was based on that the Minister is always emphasising that he doesn’t want to see any motorcycles within the restricted area. And you see, he has capable hands that are here to ensure that laws are being enforced,” he stated.
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