EXTORTION/KIDNAPING: Rescue us from ‘agberos‘, transporters beg Lagos govt

TRANSPORTERS plying the Mile 2-Badagry axis, under the aegis of Mega-City Transport Association, MCTA, yesterday, urged the Lagos State government and security agencies to rescue them from extortion, assault and kidnapping, allegedly carried out by members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, and the Road Transport Employee Association of Nigeria, RTEAN.

The group said that the high ticket fee of N7000 per day, per vehicle, being collected from drivers by NURTW and RTEAN, was too exorbitant, which led to the peaceful protest, last week. Addressing newsmen in Lagos, Chairman of MCTA, Mr. Jude Ogunmola, accused officials suspected to be members of RTEAN of assaulting drivers and vandalizing their vehicles.

Ogunmola also alleged that the street urchins, also known as Agberos, kidnapped some of their drivers and took them to an unidentified destination. He said: “We want to make it clear to the public and the Lagos State government that the National Union of Road Transport Workers and Road Transport Employee Association of Nigeria are not our representatives as none of our drivers are members of the two unions.

“We pay tickets at every bus-stop and those Agberos do not have buses on the road. The harassment of the Agberos on the drivers is becoming alarming and worrisome such that the Agberos beat the drivers and bus-conductors, coupled with damaging their vehicles. There should be no longer national and state tickets.

Besides, he maintained that: “We can no longer pay to NURTW and RTEAN, the high ticket fee of N7000 per day per vehicle as that is too much for us, they should release all our drivers kidnapped by Agberos. “They should treat all our injured drivers and compensate them; all vehicles destroyed should be replaced.”