By OKOSUN OKHUELEIGBE
TO ensure that commercial drivers stop using alcohol and other psychotropic substances at various motor parks and reduce crime, AIG Zone 2 Command, Bala Hassan met with the various unions in the transport sector under his area of jurisdiction.
While addressing them at the Zone 2 Headquarters, he said the essence of the meeting was to ensure that Nigerians enjoy their holidays to the fullest without any form of criminal attacks or undue intimidation, harassment by any group of persons.
Represented by the Zonal Public Relations Officer; ACP Lawal Adebowale, he said the parley was also to enable the police appraise the efforts various unions were making to check people boarding vehicles at various parks and to ensure that lorries conveying scrap materials don’t have explosives planted in such vehicles.
The various unions including National Union of Road Transports Workers (NURTW) represented by the Lagos state Chairman, Comrade Tajudeen Agbede; National Association of Waste Dealers Employers of Nigeria (NASWDEN) represented by Comrade Stephen Obayuwana; Road Transport Employer Assocaition of Nigeria (RTEAN) represented by Alhaji Ahmed Kuku (aka Aboki) and other unions. They expressed their readiness to collaborate with the police while also seeking for armed police presences in some hot spots with a view to truncating the activities of hoodlums and street urchins who are constantly harassing and extorting their members.
Adebowale explained that the meeting will be held periodically and was at the instance IGP Solomon Arase, emphasizing the imperative of community policing and interacting with stakeholders.
He called on them to register as members of Police Community Relation Cooperation noting that “security is not exclusively for the police, but for everybody.”
He advised the union leaders to monitor people who ride motorcycles to commit crimes, stressing that what happened in Kano where the terrorists planted bombs and detonated it at the park could have been avoided if the union members had had a robust checking mechanism.
“This will serve as a feedback mechanism to tell us where we are lacking and also what we as law enforcement agency expect from you. We have perfected strategies to ensure that the yuletide period is free of crime. We want to be more predictive and proactive to prevent bad incidences not reactive hence there is the need for us to prepare ahead of time.
“We shall ensure that our bomb disposal unit visit hotels, amusement parks, eateries, viewing centres from time to time; freeze the place to ensure bombs are not planted. The SARS would invigorate their patrols. At random, there might be “Stop and Search” by our men on patrol if they suspect any vehicle with a view to recovery any arms and ammunition, rescue any kidnapped victim but not on frivolous reasons.
Adebowale cautioned people to avoid or limit discussions with strangers while in the bus. “Don’t engage in frivolous business discussions with fraudsters who would tell you that they have business plan or some chemicals to buy, or an Imam with vision, please avoid them while on a bus ride.”
Responding, Comrade Agbede said they have set up a task force to check people selling alcohol and Indian hemp at motor parks. “We don’t allow them to sell alcohol. We have task force that monitor them and we sensitize them every Tuesdays and Thursdays. We don’t allow anybody to collect money from one bus stop to the other outside our members who wear white and green uniform. Usually, our working period is 6am to 6pm. Anybody not wearing our uniform is engaging in illegal collection.”
We like this collaboration and we appreciate the efforts of the police. We have been confronted by criminals in the process of our work to the extent we are apprehensive to be on the highway. We want more armed security on the road to deter the activities of streets urchins and other criminal activities.
“We would continue to educate our members to shun bad conduct and company and expose criminals. We also want to challenge the police authorities to check some of their men within the rank and file who would want to give the force a bad name,”Agbede added.