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The National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, RTEAN, have been enjoined to join hands with law enforcement agencies to eradicate crime in the country.
The call was made at a meeting convened by the Lagos State Police command between the two transport unions on the instance of the IGP Ibrahim Idris, to interact with stakeholders in the sector in Ikeja, yesterday.
Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni, stated that the current leadership of the police is doing everything to ensure that there are new ways things are done.
According to him, “We decided to interact with you to ensure that we work hand in hand with you and discuss as citizens of this country and residents of Lagos to profer solutions to the issues of using commercial vehicles to perpetrate crimes.
“Armed robbers, kidnappers and other criminals have been arrested in times past, who make use of commercial vehicles to carry out their criminal activities.
“Drivers are the most respected workers abroad, because of the way they relate with law enforcement agencies and collaborate on solving crimes.
“I want to use this medium to enjoin you to reiterate your members, carry out a census of all your members, identify dedicated routes for each units and ensure they adhere to it. This will enable the union to easily identify bad eggs among them,” he advised.
Responding chairman of RTEAN Lagos branch Mohammed Musa, stated that the major problems the union is facing are caused by law enforcement officers who own some of the vehicles being used as commercial vehicles.
He noted that these vehicles are not registered with the union and are not under their control.
“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.
“This vehicles are the ones who are into picking up passengers on the road indiscriminately, and when people see them on the road they said they our members.
He expressed the union readiness to work the police its plan of riding the union of touts and other bad eggs giving the union bad names.
In the same vein Chairman NURTW Lagos branch Alhaji Tajudeen Agbede said they have set up a task force to curtail the activities of 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 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.
