FCTA vows crackdown on traffic offenders, touts

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has reaffirmed that its authority to enforce traffic regulations remains fully intact, warning traffic offenders and touts of stiff sanctions.

The Mandate Secretary of the FCTA Transportation Secretariat, Mr Chinedum Elechi, gave the warning at a news conference in Abuja on Thursday.

Elechi dismissed claims that a recent court judgment stripped the administration’s Department of Road Transport Services (DRTS) of its powers to impound vehicles or penalise traffic offenders.

He warned motorists against taking advantage of what he described as misconceptions surrounding the court’s decision on the status of the DRTS.

The mandate secretary explained that the court considered the DRTS as a department without a specific enabling law, unlike the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA).

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He, however, noted that the legal authority to enforce transportation laws rests with the FCTA as a corporate entity under the leadership of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

“People will say, ‘Oh, there’s no DRTS, so we can do anything we like.’ False, it is not true. The enforcement capacity for transportation infractions does not rest solely with DRTS; it rests with the FCTA,” he said.

Elechi emphasised that traffic management in the nation’s capital is an integrated, multi-agency operation carried out through the FCT’s joint Command and Control Task Force.

He explained that the task force comprises the DRTS, the FCT Security Department, the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Department of State Services (DSS), the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) and other security agencies.

“When we move into the street, it is not just DRTS. You will see us there as a complete executive body. I am issuing a warning: don’t do anything you think you like, because we will come after you,” he said.

Reiterating the administration’s commitment, Elechi said safe and orderly public transportation remains central to Wike’s vision of maintaining a clean, secure and functional capital city.

He announced a full-scale crackdown on touts, unregistered transport operators and illegal motor parks across the FCT, warning that the era of appeals and soft enforcement was over.

According to him, the administration will deploy mobile courts to prosecute offenders, impound vehicles, seal illegal premises and, where ordered by the courts, crush seized vehicles.

He noted that the administration’s previous soft approach had been mistaken for weakness by illegal operators.

“We have held several meetings; we have made appeals. So, we’re tired. When you appeal to people, they think that you are weak.

“The appeal we made in the past was not because of weakness. Now, we’re coming out with strength. We’re not appealing; we’re going to clean out the streets,” he said.

The mandate secretary also dismissed claims that some transport groups operating along major corridors were recognised by the administration, insisting that even those regarded as “organised” lacked valid operational licences from the FCTA.

“Even the ones you call organised are not organised! They don’t have licences. You ask them to come and get licences, they don’t,” he stated.

He added that with the development of formal bus terminals across the FCT, operators would no longer be allowed to convert unauthorised locations in areas such as Wuse and Utako into illegal loading points.

Highlighting previous enforcement efforts, Elechi disclosed that the secretariat had earlier impounded more than 100 vehicles but released them on compassionate grounds.

He warned, however, that no such leniency would be extended in future.

Backing the enforcement exercise with legal provisions, the mandate secretary cited the Federal Capital Territory Establishment (Dissolution) Order No. 1 of 2004, signed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, as well as the FCT Road Transport Regulations 2023.

According to him, the legal instruments empower the administration to seal premises, impound vehicles, establish mobile courts and prosecute offenders.

“The existing laws give powers to seal premises, impound vehicles, set up mobile courts, and get people convicted and sent to prison.

“If you operate without a licence, the law prescribes three months’ imprisonment in some sections. If we get hold of your vehicle, you will face the mobile court.

“If we are given a verdict to seize and crush your vehicle, we will do it,” he said.

Elechi added that the Transportation Secretariat remains fully committed to enforcing the law to restore order to Abuja’s transportation system.