The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Monday said it has impounded 40 vehicles and 52 motorcycles in its renewed operations to curb traffic violations in Abuja.
The Mandate Secretary, FCTA’s Transport Secretariat, Chinedu Elechi, said that the administration has constituted a multi-agency task force comprising the police, civil defence and other security outfits, to deal with the worrisome menace of traffic violations.
Elechi, who disclosed this at the Wuye command of the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS) to inspect the impounded vehicles and motorcycles, noted that a mobile court would take a decision and further direct the actions that would be taken.
“We don’t just impound; the owners will face a mobile court. So what we’ll do with them will depend on the court order, where we can tell you straight away that the bikes are crossed. But all of these things happen after the court order,” Elechi said.
The Secretary stressed that the clampdown would be sustained as long as violators persist, warning that the FCTA will not relent in enforcing order in the transport sector.
In his words, “If the people use the bikes and the unpainted vehicles, so long as they are not tired of violating the law, we too cannot be tired. So sustainability is as they violate. It’s an FCT task. We’ll keep doing it and doing it.”
Also, the Acting Director of the FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS), Deborah Osho, also clarified that the vehicles and motorcycles were seized for a range of traffic offences, with unpainted commercial taxis topping the list.
“They were impounded for various traffic offences. We have some for route violations. We have some for driving against the traffic. And the major one is the unpainted commercial vehicles. You can see that a lot of vehicles around there are not painted. And those are the ones that have been used mostly for one chance,” Osho explained.
She added that 52 motorcycles and four tricycles were also confiscated, mainly for route violations and links to criminal activities. “These ones also are mostly used for criminal activities. You can see bag snatching and all manner of activities in the town.
