By Okey Maduforo
The Authorities of Onitsha South local government area of Anambra state has arrested two suspected motor park touts involved in forcing unsuspecting commuters into buses and extorting money from them.
The Council also impounded two commuter vehicles whose drivers were allegedly involved in touting and extortion and refunded the unsuspecting commuters a total sum of 81,500 .00 extorted from them.
This development is the result of the special monitoring team set up by the Chairman of the Council area Chief Emeka Joseph Orji to work with the State Anti -touting Squared ; SASA to fight against incidents of touting in the area.
Earlier before this arrest , touts operating alone Upper Iweka at the most private and public parks force unsuspecting commuters and passers by into commuter buses force them to remain in the bus , collect transport fare from them and release them when the real passengers come without refunding them their money.
Those that refused to enter the buses are beaten to blue black by the touts and forced into the bus and so far seven victims had earlier reported to the Council about their ordeals in the hands of touts.
One of the victims Mrs Nneka Okoye lamented that;
“I was looking for bus to go to Owerri when they told me that their bus was going to Owerri and when I discovered that the bus was going to Benin , they insisted that I remain in their bus and they collected N18,500.00 from me which they did not refund to me “
“It was when I saw one of my neighbors that I started screaming and my neighbor called the SASA squad that came to my rescue ” she said.
On hearing this incident the Council Chairman Orji in the company of top officials of the local government got to the private park and called for the arrest of the two suspected drivers and the impounding of the two buses.
Speaking shortly after that Chief Emeka Joseph Orji decried the activities of touts in the area saying that despite the orders of the governor against touting some people are still neck deep in the act .
“About five months ago Gov Charles Soludo launched the State Anti Touting Agency Squad and we have been able to take over major flash points of touting but some people are neck deep in the act “
“We have zero tolerance to touting in Onitsha South local government area and we shall not relent in this fight and we discover that this is more on the part of private parks and we use this medium to warn both public and private parks to be very vigilant or they would face sanctions ” he said.
Onitsha South Media
