It was a brutal encounter as operatives of the Anambra State Anti-Touting Squad, known as SASA clashed with operators of commercial motorcycles popularly called Keke in Awka, Anambra State Capital, in the course of an enforcement drive.
The clash which occurred at the UNIZIK junction to Okpuno route park, saw the destruction of the windscreen of about 11 keke napep as well as injuries to many operators and SASA operatives.
It was gathered that trouble had started when the SASA operatives stormed the park to arrest suspected touts collecting all forms of monies from the Keke operators and the operators resisted the arrest.
Anambra State Anti Touts Squad has brutalized seven tricycle drivers and destroyed 11 vehicles in Awka, the State capital.
Out of the seven brutalized drivers, three are still in the hospitals receiving treatments.
Daily Trust gathered that the Anti Touts squad stormed Unizik keke loading pit and brutalised seven members of Anambra keke drivers forum(AKDF) .
One of the drivers at the park, Enerst Iwunor who spoke to TNC correspondent said the Anti Touts squad came in a commando ways and started beating and shooting randomly.
According to him,the squad came and arrested some of their members, alleging that they are touts collecting money from drivers because they pay N200 every day to owner of the private Park.
He said park in question is a government approved private Park , charging service fee to keke operators.
“When they came inside the park, we told them that we are Keke drivers not touts. They said they came with three Keke drivers who claimed they are touts in our pit collecting money.
“They descended on us and started beating everybody at the park. They were shooting guns as if they were confronting armed robbers. They also used knife to attacked us.
“In the process of attacking us, they broke 11 windscreen of tricycles, injured more than eight drivers and took some of our members to their office in onitsha.
“Four of the brutalized persons are still in the hospital now,” he said .
Another operator, who pleaded anonymity, revealed that at a park opposite the scene of the attack, touts were freely operating, yet the SASA operatives avoided there and instead, chose to come and attack innocent operators.
He stated that some of the arrested members were released by the Anti Touts squad after paying between N13000 ,N4000 and N3000 from the victims.
He called on government to urgently call the squad to order to avoid them harassing Keke drivers in the state.
“We are calling on the governor Prof. Charles Soludo to do something before the Anti Touts squad kill Keke drivers in Anambra State.
“We are law abiding citizen, paying our taxes as when due. These people are representing the government but what they did was horrible and unfortunate,” he said .
Another victim, narrated how he was just inside the park when suddenly they stormed on them and started beating everybody and broke his head.
According to him, all those the Anti Touts squad beat are not touts but Keke drivers and they knew that.
Meanwhile, our correspondent took the matter up and sought after the commander of SASA who led the operation, who explained that the SASA operatives decided to leave Onitsha which was their main charge, to go to Awka, because of series of reports about touting activities in the state capital.
He revealed that the operatives had disguised themselves as passengers in a keke to be able to catch the touts collecting the monies red handed.
“That operation was a very discreet one and we boarded three keke about five of us, from the ultimate plaza Abakaliki street.
”Upon getting towards the UNIZIK axis, we saw this tout, reach out to collect money from the operators carrying our men.
“When we tried to arrest him, he ran inside the park and surprisingly, when we went to pick him, the operators refused.
“They even became violent and started attacking our men, on the presumption that we were only five. By then, we made calls for back-up from our men and they arrived.
“I was there myself and I sustained an injury on my neck from a broken bottle they used to attack me. It was when they started attacking us that we responded and eventually overpowered them and arrested many of them.
“Even one of my men was hit with a big stick on the head and he fainted. As we speak, he is still at the hospital, bleeding from his nose and ears,” he narrated.
The SASA commander expressed worry why the same Keke operators who gave reports about touts and their activities, will be the ones protecting the same criminals extorting, noting that their findings revealed that the operators are divided into two, the real operators and the criminals among them.
”We were not looking for the Keke drivers, rather touts whom we met at the place collecting money from them. What do they want, the same people they are complianing about extorting money from them are the same people some of them are protecting. I don’t know what they want ” he said.
