Youths under the aegis of ‘Youth Volunteer’ in Anambra state have declared war on touts and criminal terrorising with vow to fight to restore peace and sanity in the state as the scourge continues unabated.
Leader of the group, Chukwuma Okpalaezeukwu in Onitsha, the commercial hub of the state on Wednesday, said they would focused on traffic surveillance and monitoring of criminal activities.
He said that they would assist the government and security agencies to sanitize every corner, and get rid of touts that have been tormenting the state.
According to him, the youths decided to respond to Gov. Charles Soludo’s inaugural “pronouncement on touting and other criminal activities in the state.
Okpalaezeukwu said that they were also out to suport th enforcement order of the commissioner of police in the state, Echeng Eworo Echeng.
“We, the Anambra Youths Volunteers hereby declare our resolve to assist the state government and the security agencies in checking these youth-prone excesses.
“We will end all criminal activities. No more snatching of handbags, phones and personal belongings of innocent citizens. We are going to assist and ensure that peace, law and order are restored in the state,“ he said.
Okpalaezeukwu also admonished youths engaging in touting and other unlawful activities to desist, noting that the group would use the Mobile Courts established by the new administration to deal ruthlessly with any hoodlum caught terrorizing the state in any form.
He further said that the group was determined to help rehabilitate, rebrand and reintegrate youths who had resorted to touting, criminal activities and other social vices as means of survival in the state.
Meanwhile, cmmercial drivers, particularly tricyclists in Awka, the state capital, have lamented the continued extortion of several levies by touts inspite of the ban recently pronounced by the new government of the state.
Our survey at the various parks in Awka showed that touts still collect money from drivers in the area.
At UNIZIK Temp. Site where tricyclists load to Okpuno, Mgbakwu, Ngozi Estate among others; it was observed that every tricyclist was levied ₦50 being collected by two men, one with a red marker, while the other tightly held a bundle of money of different denominations in his left hand.
One of the tricyclists, who simply identified himself as Chiboy for security reasons, lamented that despite the ban and various awareness created about it, touting business still openly.
“Even this morning, we were all in this park when a public service announcer passed here and created awareness about the ban and also warned that we shouldn’t give any tout or revenue agent money anymore, because Soludo has banned that. And these touts were all here when the announcement was made.
“Yet, despite the announcement, they still continued what they were doing. Some of them were even mocking the man when he was making the announcement.”
The story was not too different at Amawbia Park, where two touts were also sighted, with one holding a marker, while another held fat bundle of money and still chased after loaded and departing tricycles to collect ₦100 each from them.
After a short while, tricyclist was seen at a close-by shop shouting “Final! No more! Soludo Solution done come! Make I see how I go continue dey make others rich with my sweat and remain poor as Keke driver.”
While saying these, he was also holding a burning paper suspected to be one of the daily tickets usually sold to them at the park.
The tricyclist confirmed the burnt paper was a ticket touts used to sell to them, but revealed that the era of tickets had now passed, as no one sells tickets to them anymore at the park.
He said: “That time, before you go carry passenger from this park reach Amawbia and come back, you go done pay like ₦550, all in the name of tickets, loading fee, park fee and other things wey I no even fit remember.
“But, today, all those things done become pass, because government done chase all those Agbero comot. Now, nah only ₦100 we dey pay for the park each time we load, because the man who get the park say nah him property, and no be government own. Therefore him boys still dey ground dey collect money for him from every Keke wey loads for this park.”
It was, however, observed that shuttle buses who load at the park also pay certain amounts of money to another group of touts, ranging from ₦100 and above, depending on the destinations of the passengers he carried.
One of the shuttle drivers also testified that they were paying much more than that amount in the past, but for the new policy.
At Aroma Junction, the story was worse, as interviews with tricyclists show that nothing has changed from what was previously obtainable.
A tricyclist who plies Aroma—Ifite route revealed that each tricyclist pays a total of ₦700 daily, the breakdown of which he gave as follows: ₦400 paid to Chidubem (a member of the Keke Union task force), 100 paid to Ozone, ₦100 for Opposition, and ₦100 paid at Book Foundation.
He disclosed that their Union Chairman resigned two days ago and advised those under him to cease collecting levies and other revenue henceforth, but despite that, the defiant Chidubem still comes out daily to collect those levies, shortly after which he immediately disappears, probably for fear of being caught or arrested.
“Him still come this evening self, collect him money sharp sharp and disappear. Abeg make government come help us pursue them comot kpamkpam from here. This people dey use us make better money here,” he added (in pidgin).
A commercial bus driver, Mr John Odoh, who plies from Onitsha to Awka said they still give out money to the illegal agents.
“They hide by the corner to avoid arrest to collect the threatening to deal with us if we refused. They tell us to go and inform the governor who gave the order, he said. My
Recall that the Anambra State Commissioner of Police, CP Echeng Echeng, on Sunday, gave a marching order to the Heads of Tactical Units, Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) and Heads of Departments (HODs) across the State Police Command to ensure strict and immediate enforcement of the band on touting and cash collection of revenue in the state, which was declared by the newly-sworn-in Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo.
