Commercial activities were grounded in Onitsha, Anambra State as tricycle operators protested alleged extortion and brutality in the hands of touts and revenue collectors.

The group, known as Tricycle Owners Association of Nigeria, also blocked major roads in the city on Saturday.

The protest also followed the alleged multiple stabbing of a tricycle operator on the Awka road by a revenue collector.

The group lamented that their sufferings in the hands of the touts were becoming unbearable and called on the state government to come to their rescue by deploying security personnel to the area.

The protest started about 12.30pm and lasted several hours while they blocked the Main Market road, Awka Road, New Cemetary Road, Old Cemetary Road, Old Enugu Road, and other exits and entry points into Onitsha.

Addressing journalists, the spokesman for the group, Mr David Emmanuel, said that they had taken enough humiliation from both legal and illegal revenue collectors in the state.

He added that they pay between N4,500 N8,000 to the revenue collectors apart from the N350 daily dues they pay to the Anambra State Government.

Emmanuel lamented that while they had nothing to show for their daily efforts, the revenue collectors and thugs smiled home with huge sums of money.

He said, “We wondered why even after such money is collected from us, they beat and wound us, you dare not question their identity. Several complaints we made to the Anambra State Ministry of Transport did not yield any result.

“We pay money to a group, before you move an inch, another group will stop you and if you question them, they would start beating you, using all types of weapons against you, that is one of the causes of today’s protest, they have killed and given life threatening injuries to our members just because we want to know who we are giving our money.

“We give money to people we don’t know who they are working for, all they know is for you to give them money, that is not covered by receipt, and some operate with receipts we do not know their source.

Do you know that Marker Pen is used to collect money from tricycle operators in Anambra State, a genuine agent use receipt to collect money, you give him money and he gives you receipt, but in Anambra State, particularly, Onitsha, people use Marker pen, and tick good or sign signature on the windscreen of your tricycle and collect between N300 to N500 per trip depending on the route you ply.

“We don’t go home with anything after daily settling of both legal and illegal revenue agents, we will not leave the roads until government come and address and hear us, they pretend not to know what we are going through because it is the monster they created that is working against us.

“We are practically working for these criminal revenue agents who hide under working for government to extort all sums of money from us. We are busy working, toiling under the sun and rain and illegal revenue agents are forcefully collecting our money and drinking beer in our presence with our money.

“They dress better than us, they wear the beat shirts and shoes with money they forcefully collect from us. Today, we say enough is enough and we will not accept their intimidation, harassment and in most cases killing of our members any longer.”

Due to the protests, residents resorted to trekking to their various destinations as the situation led to a standstill on all the major roads.

The State Media Coordinator, TOAN, Mr Uzir Uzir, confirmed that the tricycle operators grievances were genuine and called on relevant authorities to look into their plight.

Efforts to get the reaction of the police spokesman, Mr Ikenga Tochukwu, proved abortive as he did not respond to messages sent to his phone as of the time of sending this report.

https://punchng.com/extortion-protesting-tricycle-operators-ground-commercial-activities-in-onitsha/?

So there are owomida(agbero) in Anambra and Nyamuri won't stop masturbating over Lagos issues.
The flat tribes always crtitcise Lagos, even when no state outside South East show them love like Lagos, even when Lagos govt is taking the right steps, they'll still crtitcise,yoruba land made a lot of them billionaire but they still hate yoruba people, I think these people just hate yoruba for no reason and am 100% sure these coming election will open a lot of eyes, especially those that are not on Internet,Nyamuri should continue the hate campaign against yoruba people,what u don't realise is that you have made your bed and will have to lie on it

This is work of Tinubu,

Why is Govt still keeping quiet about all these illegal extortions? Is this how to generate revenue? Revenue that finally ends up in the pockets of state thieves?
These set of agberos will still come out tomorrow to shout no good roads in Anambra,poor infrastructure etc but they stand on the road doing illegal extortions from every commercial riders.
One would ask,where then is the money going to?
Good roads we no see.
Pipe borne water we no see.
Infrastructure we no see.
Affordable transportation we no see.

Of a truth the spate of Agbero extortions in Onitsha and Awka axis has tripled the cost of transportation. Passengers now pay more due to the excess and illegal tax these jobless guys collect and threaten them for. A journey of #100 last year has been hiked to #300. A journey of #50 has been hiked to #200. Why? Because of Agberos aka street touts.

Meanwhile,fuel is still being sold at #165

What will then happen when Bubu finally ends fuel subsidy?


I know of some Agberos that resume work everyday in Awka. They live in Onitsha and resume agberoism in the state capital. They look richer and neater than big business men. Why is the govt doing this to us?
Can’t we have a better society?
Is this how Biafra will look like?

South East speak out..you’re not dumb!!!

Seun Lalasticlala

Udele1 come and blame ipob

Tinubu as taken his agberos to Alaigbo. Bunch of lunatics waking up to Tinubu as their problem over to your Igbo fathers in hell.

Fake news.

There is no single Anambra man that I'd not a billionaire. Or, make I no lie, the poorest Anambra man has at least N100m in his bank account and at least 2 houses in Lagos, Abuja and Anambra.

So there is no way Anambra man will be riding keke not to talk of extorting money from the riders.

Tinubu newspaper spreading fake news since ikemba ojukwu ben Johnsoned to ivory coast in woman skirt and blouse.

BiafranPatriot:
News from the Propaganda Arm of SW. Issue of Agbero in SE will not make it comparable to the SW which has a humongous base of indolent Youth who grow up aspiring to be like MC OLUOMO...KUNLE POLY. etc...

After the show of shame in their "Ghetto slum" called Lagos...they wanted to divert attention to "kek operators"...na wah!!

In Lagos soon ...PLANES, SHIPS, HELICOPTERS, will pay OWO-MI-DA!!

In Lagos every Body pays 1 useless tax of another and Afonja claim to be suffersticated ...Tueh!!

Exactly this is going to Tibubu's pocket as well.

Stop galvanizing your shortsightedness. This practice is very much alien to the SE and its being looked into. soon you will understand Sledge hammer implementation.

The Lagos State Government that empowers these agberos is begging citizens to report them to Police...and you miscreants compare yourself to the SE region that will eradicate this menace instantly.??

Am sorry Guy...SE no be SW in that regard.

TrackerXL:



Exactly this is going to Tibubu's pocket as well.

Owomida in Anambra? These people are always criticising everyone but they are worst

tamdun:
Owomida in Anambra? These people are always criticising everyone but they are worst

.
Igbos copied it from Lagosians and now they’re crying.

Allah bless the idiot that will introduce it in the north. Zamu fara wahala

TrackerXL:
Tinubu as taken his agberos to Alaigbo. Bunch of lunatics waking up to Tinubu as their problem over to your Igbo fathers in hell.

Hmm.. sorry to say South west pple introduced agberos into Nigeria. It started from Lagos.And since most Nigerians gat a Lagos Dream and always troop to Lagos for opportunities they get to learn and copy some of this social ills accumulated in Lagos. It’s in Lagos,igbos trooping day in day out copied agbero ship from. Let us don’t go to how South west introduced cultism into Nigeria and now the society is living with it_ bad menace.

Agbero, in Yoruba, means the one who help you get passengers to fill your bus and assist them if they need help.
In literal interpretation, an agbero is the passenger's assistant/ helper.

What you have there are complete touts who don't create, own or run a garage. That's why they're not members of the NURTW or any of their affiliate groups. The citizens must insist that the government take them off the road or they must be ready to join NURTW or come under identified leadership.

Finally, it is quite interesting that what was described up there used to be our experience in Lagos State and I am shocked that some folks exported it to Anambra. The government must please wade in. In Lagos, they were demanded to wear uniforms and only collect levies from their own members not members of NATO, RTEAN. I believe it can be resolved.
May God bless Anambra state and may God bless Nigeria forever.

Meanwhile, I plead with my fellow patriotic Nigerians; please vote for Asiwaju Tinubu.
Asiwaju Tinubu is extremely capable and competent to lead Nigeria to greater heights.
He is a visionary, brilliant and extremely hardworking patriotic leader.
Asiwaju Tinubu is an experienced public administrator and a Patriot .
Please vote for Asiwaju Tinubu.
May God bless you and may God bless Nigeria forever.
Please vote for Asiwaju Tinubu.

I thought they say Agbero no dey for East?

Breeze don open Fowl nyash.

All of them are in ghost mode, u will never see them on a thread like this

Can SE ever be SW ?!
You do not know the difference between wretchedness you Igbo escape to come to the SW flowing with milk n honey.

BiafranPatriot:


Am sorry Guy...SE no be SW in that regard.

TrackerXL:
Tinubu as taken his agberos to Alaigbo. Bunch of lunatics waking up to Tinubu as their problem over to your Igbo fathers in hell.

Just like those protesting tricycle riders, every Nigerian has rights to complain about things that concern them - both online and in real life. That's why it's one country. The earlier you realize that the better.

v

I am not surprised

This is labors of politicians,