Criminal activities: Abia restricts Keke, Okada operations

From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia

Photo

R-L: Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Prince Nwachukwu Uzor, Commissioner For Information and Culture, Prince Okey Kanu and Special Adviser on Transport, Dr Obioma Nwogbe, during the briefing

Abia State government has announced that with effect from July 1, 2024, commercial tricycles (Keke) and motorcycles (Okada) operations would be restricted from 6 p.m to 7 a.m in the two cities of Aba and Umuahia.

The measure, according to the Government, is to curb rising cases of robberies and attacks on commutters being perpetrated through the two means of transportation in the state.

The Commissioner for Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, Prince Nwachukwu Uzor, who announced this at a joint Press Briefing in his office in Umuahia on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, also said that all vehicles, including buses, cars, tricycles and motorcycles being used for commercial purposes would have to be enumerated and registered by government, an exercise, he said would commence almost immediately, even before the restriction comes into effect.

Prince Uzor explained that Governor Alex Otti took the decision to apply this security measure which was wholly endorsed by the State Executive Council, warning that if the present security situation was allowed to deteriorate, no one would be able to move freely again in the state.

The Commissioner said after the May 30, 2024 security breach leading to the killing of five soldiers at the military checkpoint at Obikabia in Aba, the state would stop at nothing in nipping any security threat in the bud.

“We are witness to other security challenges within Umuahia and Aba. A lot of issues have been reported about pick-pocketing, robberies and all that, especially within Ogbor Hill area, Ngwa Road area in Aba, where there have been reports of people being robbed while they are in tricycles or people who rob them using Keke or Okada to make good their escape.

“And being the Chief Security Officer of the State and with the best interest of Abians in his heart, His Excellency, with the endorsement of the State Executive Council, has decided to address these issues.

“In order to save the lives of Abia citizens, especially those who are law-abiding, His Excellency has decided that from the 1st of July, 2024, Keke and Okada operations will be restricted from the hours of 7 p.m to 6 a.m.

“From 7 p.m to 6 a.m they will no longer be in operations in Umuahia and Aba areas because by the reports that are available to security agencies, most of these robberies and attacks happen in the evening, late night and very early morning hours in these cities,” the Commissioner said.

He said that the Keke and Okada operators would carry on with their normal businesses  between the hours of 6 a.m and 7 p.m. “They will still do their business, it’s just that the state government has decided to curb the menace of criminals who use these means of transport to perpetrate their nefarious  activities,” he stressed.

According to him, the enumeration and registration exercise would enable government to know those engaged in commercial transport in the state and for easy identification in case of any incident.

“The state government also believes that it has to know exactly who is operating within our environment and so, by that reason, all commercial vehicles – Keke and Okada, mini-buses, big buses, whatever anybody is using to run as commercial vehicle in Abia State will now be enumerated and registered. We now need to know who owns which vehicle or who is operating which vehicle,” he said.

“So, in instances where there are robberies or attacks of any kind, by the code registrations of these vehicles, we will be able to trace who owns them or who is using them at any given time.

“We are using this opportunity to inform all Abians who are in the transport business that a committee has been set up with the Special Adviser on Security Matters, Commander MaDdonald Uba, as Chairman, comprising other members including the Special Adviser on Transport, Special Adviser on Internally Generated Revenue, The General Manager, Greater Aba Development Authority (GADA) and the General Manager, Umuahia Capital Development Authority (UCDA), that will see to the registration of all commercial vehicles in the state,” he announced.

He said that government has held fruitful meetings with all the major stakeholders in transport sector in Abia State, adding that leaderships of the various transport unions represented their members during the parley which was used to explain government’s decision to the transporters and to seek their cooperation.

“Through the instrumentality of their unions, we are imploring all that are in that business to submit themselves and their vehicles for registration and that process commences immediately. The Committee will reach out to them, we will collect all the necessary data and we then we take it from there,” Prince Uzor said.

He said that government would equally hold series of meetings with heads of security agencies in the state to ensure that the policy would be implemented with human face.

“We want to assure Abians that there will be no victimization, as long as we play to the rules. We would work closely with the Commissioner of Police and all the other heads of security agencies to ensure that the implementation of this policy will be done with a human face,” he said.

The Commissioner therefore appealed to all stakeholders and leaders of thought and other community leaders to lend their support to ensure that Abia does not experience any form of insecurity from the transport sector.

“I am imploring every Abian: all the Mayors, Traditional rulers, community leaders, among others, to please, for the safety of every one of us, for the good and development of our state, to cooperate. To develop as a state, we must all ensure that there is safety and security of property and lives in the state,” he advised.

Technical Adviser to the Governor, Charles Egere, said the enumeration and registration exercise, to be done free of charge, would help to generate data, adding that the meeting with the leadership of motor unions was aimed at sensitizing them on the forthcoming restriction to get their input before its implementation.

“It is in the nature of this administration to always carry out sensitization before any decision is implemented and that is why we have gone through that rigour of, first and foremost, engaging with the different parties concerned, to be able to understand what the challenges are and to even discuss those challenges and how to mitigate them; and that we have been able to achieve today.

“As part of this process, we are going to be gathering a lot of data. You know that without data, we can’t make meaningful decisions,” he added, saying that all security agencies have been alerted.

The Technical Adviser said that that the restriction would be reviewed wit time.

Speaking for their different unions, Chairman, Abia State Tricycle Operators Union, Aba Zone, Azubike Victor Chigozirim; Chairman, Abia State Motorcycle Operators Union, Comrade Ugboaja Chiemela and Chairman, Abia State Tricycle Operators Union, Godson Chinweotito  Apollos, said their members have endorsed the government measure which is for the security of all.

They commended the Governor for carrying them along and for the good work he was doing in the state.