Commuters Groan As Lagos Commercial Buses Begin Strike Over Extortion
Many commuters were stranded on Monday as the Joint Drivers’ Welfare Association of Nigeria (JDWAN) commenced a seven-day strike over “multiple and excessive extortion” by the Parks Management Committee headed by Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo.
Members of the group include commercial vehicles popularly known as Danfos, and mini-buses locally known as Korope.
Channels TV correspondent, who moved through the Agege, Alimosho, Ifako-Ijaiye, and Ikeja local government areas of the state, observed large crowds at scores of bus stops as commuters jostled for a few available buses who hiked transport fares by up to 100%.
While some commuters grudgingly paid the high fares to connect to their destinations, others took to trekking long distances. The situation, coupled with the lingering fuel scarcity, worsened movement in Lagos.
Some mini-bus drivers, who spoke to Channels Television, lamented the “extortion” by the state-controlled parks management committee. The bus drivers who spoke anonymously alleged that all they make daily are collected by MC Oluomo’s lieutenants through multiple taxes.
In a statement, JDWAN’s lawyer, Ayo Ademiluyi lamented “excessive and illegal ticketing and tolling” at almost every bus stop in the state.
According to him, commercial bus drivers have been sentenced to extortion and violent harassment by MC Oluomo’s men.
“On a daily basis, we lose half of our income to the motor park boys. We pay exorbitant charges in the garages and at every bus stop where we drop off passengers, whether we pick up passengers or not, we pay morning, afternoon and night. Some routes have 25 bus stops which also serve as illegal tax collection avenues,” the statement partly read.
“When we resist the extortion, we get arrested and pay N10,000 for bail to the police while the motor park boys go scot free and we also have to bail our buses separately.
Source – Channels TV
13 passengers burnt to death in Enugu road accident
No less than 13 passengers were burnt to death in a fatal accident near the Four-Corners Enugu at about 9 pm on Sunday.
The ill-fated 14-seater bus, which was said to be travelling from Imo State to Adamawa, reportedly ran into a trailer before going up in flames.
DAILY POST gathered that all the passengers save one, were said to have burnt beyond recognition in the accident, which occurred at the Enugu end of the Enugu/Port Harcourt expressway.
Only one passenger survived the auto crash, with varying versions of how he escaped. Some said sympathizers rescued him; others said he jumped out of the vehicle from the window.
The lone survivor, DAILY POST learnt, is currently receiving treatment at the Emergency Unit of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, UNTH, Ituku-Ozalla.
Source – Daily Post