FCT TASK Force Clamps Down On Okada Riders and Street Hawkers Leaving Two Dead and many Injured

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A Federal City Territory joint security taskforce in Abuja has Shot dead a female hawker and a motorcyclist while enforcing the ban on commercial okada operators around EFAB Estate junction, located off Kubwa-Abuja expressway in Karsana District of Abuja.

The taskforce, made up of VIO, police and NSCDC operatives, was set up by the FCT Administration to enforce the ban on motorcycle operations in the nation’s capital city

The motorcyclist was alleged to have been shot dead, by policemen who came to disperse commercial motorcyclists who were protesting the killing of the hawker.

The incident, took place around 10am on Wednesday, when the VIO operatives, accompanied by the police and the NSCDC officials, were conducting a routine operation to enforce the ban on commercial motorcycle operation around the highway.

A witness, Shafiu Abubakar, said the VIO operatives had attempted to seize some bikes used by the okada men around the junction but faced resistance from the owners.

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He said, “The number of the okada riders kept increasing, which forced the taskforce to leave the scene without arresting any motorcycle.

‘’However, one of the security men on the team pointed his gun toward the crowd, as they were leaving and shot dead an ice cream hawker, before they zoomed off.’’

Another witness, Sani Aliyu, said a protest led by the commercial motorcyclists erupted along the expressway, leading to the blocking of the highway for over an hour, with others setting bonfires and hitting vehicles that attempted to drive through the expressway.

He said a police taskforce from the Dawaki and Kubwa Owner Occupier divisions rushed to the scene and in the process of dispersing the crowd, used live ammunition, which led to the killing of an okada man, identified as Gaddafi Abubakar.

He said another motorcyclist survived with a fracture in his

At the Kubwa General Hospital, where the victims were taken to, the Chief Medical Director, Dr Emmanuel Musa, confirmed that one person was brought dead by the commercial motorcyclists, while another one brought by the police also died.

He said the third victim, who sustained fracture linked to gun injury, was attended to at the hospital.

Additional details from Daily Trust.