Soludo’s Squad Beat Us With Planks Every Morning –Keke Operators
Members of Tricycle Drivers in Awka Anambra State detained by the governor Charles Soludo state Anti Touts squad said they were beaten with 2×2 planks without foods for two days in detention.
Some of the victims who spoke with our reporter in Awka at their Christmas end of year party said that the two days they were detained at the Anambra State Anti Touts squad facility in onitsha was like hell , saying they were beaten every morning with 2×2 planks.
According to them ,the early beating was christened morning tea to us by the Anti Touts squad.
The vice chairman of the Unizik park who was arrested along with others said that they were beaten like common criminals in the anti Touts camp onitsha.
“When we got to the Anti Touts squad facility , we slept inside their bus and in the morning they used 2×2 planks to beat us, hitting our legs and joints with the planks, saying it was a morning tea for us.
After beating us with 2×2 ,they laid down again under the sun and continued with the beatings.
It was when their ‘oga’ came out and ordered them to stop the beatings that they stopped beating us” he said.
According to him,before him and other detained persons,the Anti Touts squad were recruiting Touts and sending them out to places to collect money .
“Before me and others they were telling some of the arrested touts that they will clothe them with Id card and they will move them to work at their respective places .
They told them that nobody will disturb or arrest them again in their pit but they should be making returns.
They gave them their phone numbers to call them in case anyone came to disturbed them.
They alleged that most of the Anti Touts members are recruited from the touts for them . There is a serious problem because touts cannot fight touts, ” he said .
Another Keke driver, Chibueze Nweke said that they stayed two days without food in Anti Touts squad facility in Onitsha.
According to him, though, they did not beat him much but there were some people who broke their legs with 2×2 in the Anti Touts squad facility Onitsha.
He said that if the Anti Touts people are not properly monitored they will destroy many people in Anambra state .
Also the chairman of Keke drivers Unizik pit , comrade JohnPaul Nnaegbuna said the Anti Touts had no business coming to their pit because the park was privately owned and the State government gave approval of it and it allowed park owners to collect fees from drivers.
“When these men came inside the park some people were wearing Unified Hybrid Enforcement Team (UHBET) uniforms while others were wearing state Anti Touts squad SASA.
I asked them who they were , and they replied that they came to catch Agboro. I told them that there are no Agboro in our park, that everybody here is a Keke operator
I told them also that all the people in the park are Keke drivers and we know each other one by one .
It was in the process of discussion, I had wanted to call one of our members Mr Iwunor to come in and beg them that , one of them pounced on me with a knife and cut my finger.
He said I was making calls as if making calls was a crime. It was then that Keke drivers said no, you cannot come into our park and start beating our Chairman and others without any justification and they started protecting themselves.
Then, they began to shoot and called for reinforcement and they dealt with everybody in the park mercilessly ” he said .
He lamented that squad beat them and vandalised their vehicles right inside the park,without a just cause,and wondered what could be their fate outside the park.
According to him,where some people were being detained are not the approved facility by government rather hidden camp for torturing .
He appealed to the state government to intervene and repair those vehicles as it is the only means where these drivers eat and pay their monthly taxes.
He also stated all those who vehicles were vandalised are up-to-date in their tax payments,because the park management made sure that every person that loads in the meet his tax obligation to government.
The chairman said that they are hoping on the government since the deputy governor had visited and promised to address their problems regarding the vandalized vehicles and anti Touts squad brutalization of their members
The coordinator of Ngozi units,which comprises Unizik pit Mr Collins Ude said the Anti Touts squad demonstrated height of unprofessionalism, untrained and barbarism in their conduct.
He said that if those Anti Touts personnel were trained,they should have known that there is no way 20 persons could be tout in a particular park, noting that the highest number is five
According to him,there is no single tout at the Unizik park, noting that whatever they are doing is according to the governor’s instructions.
He said that the only two persons collecting N200 every day are for the owner of the Park for maintenance of the pit.
According to him,the N200 daily pay to the owner of the park was authorized by the government of Anambra State.
“Before these people came for the operation,somebody called me that I should provide a guide to them . I said ok,we shall help them to identify the touts .
I told the person that in the last year, we have been fighting the touts and have driven them away. And my number was sent to the coordinator of anti Touts squad Salomon Chukwuebuka whom I know as Ebuka when he was a driver to Air Vice Marshal Ben Obi, the special adviser to governor Soludo on security matters.
I never knew he was the person until this issue came up. When I met him and told him that he and his men did not behave maturely, he took offense and asked me if I could tell him what to do.
I also told him that man number was sent him to call me so that we can help you identify and he did not call, possible he knew they were not coming to arrest touts but to disorganise what we have built and bring back touts at the area” he said.
