Obiano First Day Witnessed Clashes In Onitsha Between NILODA and NCAT

                                  

Two persons are now place under intensive medical care at an undisclosed hospital, following various degrees of injuries they sustained yesterday when members of the National Committee Against Touting, NCAT teamed up with Nigerian Lorry Drivers Association, NILODA and clashed with some touts who later identified themselves as members of Anambra state task force on road decongestion.

The first incident, according to sources, occured at about 10 a.m. along Limca Road, Nkpor, near the commercial city of Onitsha when the road decongestion task force descended on a broken down Mack truck with Registration No. URN 133 XA for parking along the road.

The second incident, eye-witnesses said, occured an hour later at Upper Iweka axis, along the Onitsha/Owerri road when another group of road decongestion task force swooped on another broken down Mercedes Benz 911 lorry with Registration No. XC 105 ASB for also parking along the road.

In each of the occasions, the task force men who usually patrol all the nooks and crannies of Onitsha and its environs with their chartered buses, would on sighting any broken down vehicle, stop their own vehicle, jump down and head straight to the broken down vehicle to forcefully remove the batteries, jacks, spare tyres and other valuables.

After removing these items, the source stated, they would move them to their various offices and place a tag of N45,000 and above before the items could be released to their owners.

But as they swooped on the broken down Mack trailer yesterday in the same violent manner and were about to remove the above mentioned items, members of the Anti Touting Committee and NILODA intercepted them and both parties engaged themselves in a violent clash that led to the wounding of two persons.

Although, it was not yet ascertained as at press time whether the injured victims were from the task force, NILODA or anti touting committee, but the task force succeeded in removing the vehicle battery to their office at Idemili North Local government Headquarters, Ogidi.

But in a swift reaction, the South-East/South-South Chief Monitoring Officer of NCAT, Uche Rogers Nebuwa who led the team, told newsmen at the scene of the clash that he had gone to the Police at Ogidi and made an entry about the activities of these touts who go about harassing motorists plying Anambra roads.

He explained that the circumstances in which the task force touts contravened the two vehicles were faulty, adding that the vehicle broke down as a result of the failure of the gas system of the injector of the mack truck.

He further explained that as the driver cleared the vehicle off the road, inserted road caution (triangular sign) and was trying to bleed the gas, the touts swooped on him.

He wondered what else the vehicle driver could have done under that situation, order than to insert the road caution and then bleed the gas to get the engine started once again.

He said that in the case of 911 lorry at Upper Iweka, the driver, Francis Esika noticed a brake failure and managed to stop the vehicle, to avoid killing passersby, inserted the road signs front and back, engaged a motor mechanic and as they were battling to fix the brake, the touts who identified themselves as task force, working under one Jonjoloko, appeared from nowhere and forcefully removed his battery.

Nebuwa who disclosed that the police authorities had looked into his complaint and ordered the immediate release of the vehicle battery, warned that NCAT would continue to team up with NILODA to fight these touts to a stand still.

Nebuwa who is also the state chairman/National Coordinator/Litigation Officer of NILODA, further warned that he would initiate legal actions at the Federal High Courts against these touts if the harassments/intimidations innocent citizens continue unabated in the state.

He therefore called on Governor Willie Obiano to re-organize the state task force on road decongestion and weed out those touts who hide under road decongestion to harass motorists and scare them from entering into Anambra State.