…Seek Governor’s intervention
COSMAS CHUKWU, Enugu
Commercial drivers plying the Ugwuogo-Nike–NOWAS road have raised concern over persistent attacks, extortion, and harassment by thugs allegedly posing as revenue collectors and enforcers for Enugu East Local Government Council.
The drivers described the road as a death trap, saying that the situation has become unbearable.
“Passing through this road is like passing through hell,” said Abubakar Ringim, a driver. “Anytime you are approaching Ugwuogo, you will start seeing these boys holding logs of wood with six-inch nails protruding from them.
You will continue to meet them in groups until you get to the NOWAS junction. I pass through this road two to three times a month. On one occasion, they threw a big stick at my vehicle and broke the windscreen.” Ringim said.
The drivers claim that the financial burden from the illegal tolls is overwhelming. “I can’t even say the exact amount we pay to these people,” said Nuhu Abdullahi, another driver who transports goods from Kebbi State to Enugu.
“So what we now do is to add the amount we spend to what we charge the owners of the goods once they arrive in the South East.
The problem is that we sometimes spend over 100,000 naira just between Ugwuogo and Enugu town.” Abdullahi recounted
The drivers are being forced to seek police escorts to navigate the road safely. “Yes, what he said is the truth,” said Usman Goma, a transporter.
“We pay 50,000 to DRS police to escort us to NOWAS. We go as a group of about 10 or 20 trucks. Once we get to Opi junction, we wait until we form a group and then negotiate with DRS police who will now help us pass safely.” Goma stated.
The drivers have appealed to the governor of Enugu state, Peter Mbah to intervene and put an end to the extortion. “We are begging the governor to have mercy on us,” Goma reiterated
In response to the allegations, the Chairman of Enugu East Local Government Area, Beloved Dan Anike, denied any link with the illegal collectors, stressing that his administration has been working to end the menace.
“Those people are not my boys,” he said. “In fact, the first thing I did when I came into office was to ban those people collecting money on the road. We set up a taskforce and they started pursuing them.
We were even conducting arrests ourselves, outside of what the taskforce is doing.”
It is claimed that the leader of the illegal collectors may be working for someone with high connections with the state or federal government.
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