Truckers Seek Sanwo-Olu’s Intervention Over Extortions, Assault On Drivers, Vehicles
By Adedayo Said
• Say miscreants activities on Lagos metropolis affecting businesses, lives
• Threaten to protest, down tools if situation persist
Amalgamation of truck drivers operating within Nigerian ports system has appealed to the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for urgent intervention to save their businesses from the activities of miscreants in the form of extortions and assaults on drivers, as well as damaging trucks and causing ghastly road accidents on a daily basis.
Amalgamation is an adopted umbrella body of maritime trucking associations whose major activity focuses on the movement of import and export goods in and out of the ports in Lagos.
The truckers called on the governor to urgently make laws to criminalise the way-laying, ganging up on trucks and extortion of drivers transiting Lagos metropolis by miscreants.
The truckers group made the appeal in an open letter signed by its Coordinator, Ridwan Bello, and copied to the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police, Command Ikeja; Department of State Services (DSS) Lagos Command; Chairman, House Committee on Transportation, Lagos State House of Assembly and Lagos State Commissioner for Transport.
According to the truckers, the appeal becomes very necessary in view of the recent ghastly truck accident that happened on November 7, 2022 close to Trade Fair bridge along the Lagos-Badagry express road, that claimed the lives of a Police Inspector and two other people.
According to the group’s coordinator, the incident occurred when the miscreants were forcing and dragging the steering wheel with the truck driver to collect money forcefully, which unfortunately made the truck lose control and crush three people to death.
He said this ugly incident is one out of many in the catalogue of extortions, violence, assaults, injuries, damages to trucks and deaths that are being caused by marauding hoodlums. He said almost everybody in the state is a direct and indirect victim of the harrowing menace and malaise the hoodlums are putting truckers through.
The truckers requested the governor to urge the police and other law enforcement agencies to see it as part of their responsibilities to intervene whenever street urchins maltreat truckers within the state metropolis instead of showing no concern.
They also urged the governor to ensure the miscreants in police custody that caused the truck accidents, are brought to justice to serve as a lesson and deterrent to others.
The coordinator of the group said the truckers’ request at this moment becomes necessary as the presence of street urchins on Lagos road is forcing their drivers to abandon trucks, which is killing their businesses.
Bello lamented that the banditry of these miscreants is also forcing many logistics companies to close their business and relocate from Lagos.
“The presence of these hoodlums is not only a total disgrace and embarrassment to a populous and developed state like Lagos, but also a set back to the state government’s effort of attaining a Mega city status. Hence, all the activities of hoodlums on our roads should be totally banned,” he said.
The truckers threatened that in the absence of any solution to their problem, they will peacefully embark on a grand protest and withdrawal of service to register their grievances.
They further said their protest will be to let the whole world know that their lives and business are imploding under the anarchy of miscreants on Lagos State roads.
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