By Praise Chinecherem
Heavy Duty Truck Drivers Association of Nigeria (HDTDAN) has raised the alarm over threats to their lives for dismantling illegal road blocks mounted nationwide by motor touts.
The National President, Chief Uche Nebuwa, and Benue State chairman of Military Widows Association, MIWA, Chief Kajo Ada James, Friday in Onitsha, Anambra State, accused Katsina Ala Police Area Commander, Mr Mshakwaksha Mhelisah Aka Bulus of being part of their problem.
The truck drivers threatened to block all roads to and from Benue State if the Area Commander failed to dismantle all road blocks he mounted to and from his domain within 48 hours.
He said, “We give the Area Commander 48 hours ultimatum within which to dismantle all road blocks he mounted to and from his domain or our association in collaboration with MIWA would block all roads to and from Benue State.
“Because of the Area Commander’s threat to my life and that of James, for asking him to dismantle the illegal road blocks he mounted within his jurisdiction, we have petitioned the Zone 4 Police AIG, Makurdi, Mr. Effiong M, and the Benue State Police Commissioner.
“We wrote the IGP on our plan to sanitize the highways and he endorsed it, the Katsina Police Area Commander is disobeying the IGP’s order. Others have complied except the Area Commander and he boasted that he will deal with us to show us that he is the longest serving Area Commander in the country.
“He even arrested some of my men and substituted them with his illegal roadblock operators and boasted that we can’t do anything. So we will as last resort officially inform the IGP, we have informed the zone 4, Makurdi AIG, Mr. Effiong M, and he asked us to continue in our good efforts to sanitize the roads.
“Even the chairman of our Association in Benue State, Chief Kajo Ada James, has been threatened by the Area Commander who arrested some of Jame’s members and sacked them from the roads and mounted his own illegal operators. We will not take this, we will also drag him to court,” he vowed.
” These touts are more along Nsukka/Benue roads where you have over 50 illegal roadblocks mounted by the touts.
“We commend the effort of Zone 4 AIG in Makurdi, Mr. Effiong M, because he has relentlessly fought to ensure free flow of traffic. This time we will work with all the security operatives to make the highways free, I am sure the IGP will call the Area Commander to order.
In his own reaction, Mr. James disclosed that, “Some of the touts we dismantled their road blocks had in conjunction with the Area Commander, trailed us to our hotel to kill us but on a tip-off from an informant we left the hotel we were staying before the said assailants stormed the hotel.
“The Area Commander even refused to accept his promotion to Deputy Commissioner of Police because he will be removed and lose illegal money he makes there on daily basis,” James hinted.
“The National President of HDTDAN has severally been threatened by the Police Area Commander and myself. Our offence is because we insist the roads must be free from touts and we are not relenting,” he vowed.
“We have dismantled and set ablaze about 17 illegal road blocks in Benue State out of over 50 of them and some were set up by the Area Commander,” he further revealed.
Nebuwa had earlier commended MASAMA, one of the National coordinators of MIWA adding, “We are respected natiowide and Soludo works in partnership with us because we procure all necessary documents for road transportation in the state,” he hinted.
