Abuja drivers cry out over frequent robbery attacks

Drivers in the Federal Capital Territory have raised concerns over the alarming rate of robberies being perpetrated by evil-minded people who disguise as commercial drivers.

President and Chief Executive Officer of Painted Commercial Taxi Abuja Drivers’ Association (PAT), Shehu Shugaba Yar’adua described the style popularly called “one chance” as worrisome.

Yar’adua, in a chat with Daily Times on Wednesday wondered how the menace found its way into the capital city of the country considering the level of security men manning the city.

He however, appealed to the government to adopt a holistic measure to address the menace which has become a serious cause of concern for Abuja residents.

“We are appealing to the government to make the policy holistic in the sense that everybody paints their cars and join the system because people don’t differentiate between taxi drivers and unregistered drivers, thus when an offence is committed, the public generalise it that it is the painted taxi drivers that are the masterminds,” he said.

According to him, the leadership of his association would complement government’s efforts of in bringing perpetrators to book, saying non-painted taxis would not be allowed for commercial purposes within Abuja.

He added that “they need to be arrested or removed to ensure they leave the town permanently. However, if they must do business, they need to paint their cars and register with the five existing operators in the FCT that are licensed by the FCT minister.

“So, if you want to do this business, do the right thing and if they refuse to join, then their operations is illegal which is why we are calling on government to address because this will reduce one chance’ to 100 per cent.”

Yar’adua, who doubles as the FCT license operator, further submitted that the other way to nab the perpetrators of the evil act is to allow only recognized and licensed taxi operators to ply Abuja roads.