Following the tragic accident at Oba in Idemili South Council Area of Anambra State, earlier this week, allegedly involving IGR collectors, motorists plying routes in the state have to the Anambra State Government to stop paying lip service and show seriousness towards addressing the challenge of touts in the state.
The accident, which resulted in three deaths and injuries to five persons, happened when a truck descending to Oba from the Owerri axis developed brake failure and crashed into three commercial tricycles and other vehicles.
Eyewitnesses had said the commercial tricycle, whose occupants were worshippers heading for a church programme, had been stopped by revenue collectors and the driver being questioned when the accident occurred.
The State Government has come out to deny that the alleged IGR collectors were not from the state government.
According to the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Christian Aburime, state revenue agents do not work on Sundays, insisting that the government revenue service has not authorized anyone or agent for revenue collection on the highways, either on State or Federal roads, not to mention weekends.
But, while many drivers who spoke with TNC correspondent, have also confirmed that the persons were not government-approved agents, they however blamed the government for the unfortunate incident.
According to a driver plying the route, Chidi Uzokwe, the challenge is that the government has refused to go after the touts, hence the freedom they enjoy to operate.
“When we call out the government on matters like this, it is because the government has failed to do what it promised to do.
“When Governor Chukwuma Soludo came into office, he invited transporters and emphasized the need for us to pay our taxes and levies. He assured us that if we do so, he will ensure that touting is a thing of the past in the state.
“Today, transporters are paying their taxes but, unfortunately, the governor has been unable to fulfill its promise to eradicate touting from the state. Instead, touts have increased in their numbers.
“Transporters are being ripped off every day by these touts after paying government revenue. Is that not double jeopardy?” he queried.
On his part, a keke driver, Igbokwe Dim regretted that the touts are working hand in hand with some government officials and security agents.
This he said, makes it difficult to eradicate touting in the state.
Said he; “Several times, when these touts hold someone and they call the police to inform them of the location, before you know it, the touts will receive a call and disappear before the police arrive.
“Sometimes, they operate even in the same location where the police and the military have their checkpoints.
“Even when these touts are arrested, they don’t last 2 hours in detention before they come back to the streets to unleash terror on those who reported them, because the security operatives would have informed them.
“Many of these touts are boys to some government officials and the governor cannot claim he doesn’t know what is happening.
“These things happening to transporters today can happen to any other person tomorrow and that is why we are crying out.”
For another transporter, Steve Igodo, the government needs to look into the kind of persons it recruits for the IGR collection, while transporters must ensure that they are up-to-date regarding their payments to avoid being harassed.
He insisted that the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SASA set up by Governor Soludo, is now working hand-in-hand with the touts.
“It is worrisome that SASA today does not want to go after the touts even when they have been provided information on their operations.
“Instead, they are terrorizing operators who may have flouted one law or another.
“Again, some operatives of this SASA are known touts and we wonder how the government intends to achieve any results, working with touts to eradicate touting.
“That is not possible,” he emphasized.
