The Joint Task Force Team of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) confiscated and crushed 639 commercial motorbikes operating illegally in Abuja as part of its ongoing efforts to enforce the ban on illicit commercial motorcycle activities within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). This Thursday’s operation takes the total number of impounded and destroyed motorcycles to 1,509 between August and December.
The impounded motorcycles were confiscated from strategic locations in the city center, including Airport Road, Gudu, Lokogoma, and Games Village. Abdulateef Bello, the director of FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS), emphasized the action’s continuation in line with the law to remove commercial motorcycles from the city center.
Despite previous operations, Bello expressed concern about the persistent violation of the ban. He stated, “We have impounded over 600 motorcycles today, and they will all be crushed. The idea of crushing them is to serve as a deterrent to those who don’t believe that there is a ban on the operation of commercial motorcycles in the FCT.”
Bello promised to conduct intelligence gathering to understand the reasons behind the high number of motorcycle operators, despite the ongoing clampdown. The Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, Haruna Garba, represented by ACP Operations, Mode Magawata, highlighted the impoundment and crushing as measures to prevent criminal activities within the FCT. Many of the confiscated motorcycles were reportedly used for criminal purposes, including facilitating one-chance robberies, bag and mobile phone snatching, and drug peddling.
Magawata noted the support given to security agencies to combat criminal activities in the city, resulting in a downward trend in criminality due to the ongoing crackdown on hoodlums and those using motorcycles for illicit purposes.
Similarly, Olusola Odumosu, the Commandant of FCT Command of NSCDC, represented by Deputy Commandant Hussain Pama, emphasized that enforcing the ban on commercial motorcycle operations would contribute to reducing crime rates in the city.
