Karu LG boss threatens to ban commercial tricycles

Mr. James Thomas, the Chairman of Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, has threatened to ban commercial tricycle operations in the area.

Thomas stated this at a meeting with stakeholders and motorcycle and tricycle operatorsin Karu on Thursday.

He said that the rate at which crimes are being committed, especially by commercial tricycle operators, was alarming and required urgent attention.

Thomas said that those perpetuating these crimes hide under the guise of belonging to one union or another.

“Enough is enough; we are peace-loving people in Karu, and no inhumane acts will be accepted in this local government,” he said.

The chairman, who made reference to some states and parts of the FCT that banned tricycles, warned that if crimes continued, he would be forced to ban tricycles in the area.

He said that measures have been put in place to stop the use of tricycles to perpetrate crimes in Karu and its environs.

“All existing tricycle unions are hereby dissolved because they are too numerous and cannot be accounted for, he said.

“I therefore inaugurate a five-man committee that has been reliable over the years and can identify operators of tricycles for easy accountability in case of any crime, he said.

“All the 11 existing unions are hereby dissolved with immediate effect. On no account should any union carry out any activity in the local government.

“The committee is an interim representative; it will report to us the activities of the tricycle operators.

“This is because it will make it easy for us to identify those who perpetrate crimes and arrest and punish them accordingly,” he said.

Thomas listed some of the crimes committed by tricycle operators to include robbery, theft, stabbing, and causing all manner of grievous harm.

The chairman commended security agents in the area for ensuring that peace was sustained.

The Police Area Commander in Karu, ACP Francis Obigwa, warned the tricycle operators against taking the law into their own hands.

“We have warned you before, but you people refused to change, and you are still committing crimes.

”We are also warning that no form of protest should be carried out without informing the appropriate authorities,” he said.

Obigwa said that only tickets endorsed by the Karu local government or the state government would be recognized.

He urged the committee to live up to the expectations of the chairman and to always report their activities to the police every two weeks.

NAN reports that representatives of all security agencies were in attendance.