- Demands N3billion as compensation
The National Commercial Tricycle and Motorcycle Owners and Riders Association (NACTOMORAS) has petitioned Mr. Vincent Uduaghan, Mr. Oviemuno Oghoore, former Delta State Commissioners of Transport, two former Delta State Commissioners of Police, CP Zainab Ibrahim and AIG Adeleke Adeyinka, and 13 others over the violation of the fundamental human rights of members of the association.
Speaking with The Trumpet in Abuja, the National Public Relations Officer and Delta Chapter Chairman of NACTOMORAS, Comrade Godwin Ikolo, after the petition was heard by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on March 3, 2022, stated that it became imperative to seek the help of the commission over the constant abuse, arrest, detention, torture, seizure, malicious prosecution of the members of the association.
Ikolo accused the Delta State government of being biased and acting lawfully against the constitution of NACTOMORAS, having gone ahead to establish a parallel association called Consultant Union/Association (COMTOA), registered with the Delta State Ministry of Transport. He lamented that the Delta State government has continued to use COMTOA to exploit members of the association and also using unethical avenues to abolish NACTOMORAS which was duly registered (under part C of the companies and allied matters Act, No 1 on the 16 May 1995), with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
The Chairman stated that NACTOMORAS is not against the government for setting up a separate body but should be given the room as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution to operate in the state. He added that the association is also not against paying the accrued tax to the government. He however lamented that efforts made by the association to resolve all issues bordering on the welfare of its members have been met with stern warnings and life-threatening injuries inflicted on members of the association by government-hired thugs and the police, The Trumpet gathered.
Ikolo alleged that Hon Bernand Igbakpa who was then a Commissioner of Transport in Delta state, seized and set ablaze a good number of tricycles and motorcycles used by NACTOMORAS members to eke out a living.
While answering questions by the National Human Rights Commission after tendering 16 pieces of evidence classified under category (A), the national PRO stated that a total of 100 tricycles and 1 motorcycle were confiscated and destroyed by the Delta State government which are equivalent to N3,000,000,000 (three billion Naira).
Ikolo pleaded with the panel to grant NACTOMORAS the leverage to run its lawful activities as enshrined in the Nigeria constitution which supersedes every other state law in the country. He also pleaded for awards a three billion naira damages against COMTOA, Directorate, Delta State Ministry of Transport, and the Nigeria Police Force over the maltreatment and destruction of its members’ properties.
He described the police involvement in the issue as one which borders on unlawful arrest by its members, conspiracy to silence discerning voices of the association clamouring for fairness, equity & justice while subjecting itself as a robotic tool in the hands of the Delta state government.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) having heard from the petitioner, adjourned the case to March 9 following the absence of all the respondents for cross-examination of the petitioner.
NHRC panel reconvened on March 9th to continue with the petition by NACTOMORAS. The Nigeria Police, represented by its legal team, pleaded with the panel and NACTOMORAS for settlement outside the panel which the Delta Chapter chairman, Mr Ikolo obliged.
Before the adjournment of the case to March 22, 2022, Mr Ikolo pleaded with the panel to grant his request to invite more witnesses to assert his claims to give credence to the petitions which the panel obliged.
Earlier before Ikolo was called to stand on the deck, he discovered that only 12 out of the 17 names listed in his petition as the respondents were written down by the NHRC in its roll call sheet which he drew their attention to the error of omission.
He said some of the names not listed in the NHRC roll call list but included in his petition are Hon Bernard Igbakpa, a member representing Ethiope federal constituency and former Delta state commissioner of transport, and Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, former Delta state governor.
“It was Hon Bernard Igbakpa, tenure as commissioner of transport in Delta state, that constituted and gave credit to the rival body to be the only union of motorcycle and tricycle union to operate in the state.”
“He mandated the union to collect daily welfare dues from every motorcycle and tricycle rider irrespective of the association or union they belong. Welfare is not a tax. This money is not accounted for and you cannot force us to pay welfare which is not clearly defined.”
“Because of our refusal, Igbakpa mobilised the Police Special Respond Squad, Ogunu Warri, and other conventional police from Ekpan, Ebrumede, A Division and B Division in Warri and Uvwie to raid our members in Warri, Uvwie and its environ. He raided about 58 tricycles of our members between the year 2012 to 2014.
“He raided us continuously for three years. We wrote a letter to him for immediate release and explained to him that the tricycles were raided because we are not a member of the organisation but he refused. He accused us of not coding our tricycles under the directorate which was false because all our tricycles were coded.
“The people even carried printer under the supervision of the police to former governor’s lodge Warri, an annex of the ministry of transport, where some of our seized tricycles were kept and cleaned the code numbers issued by the VIO through the directorate of transport and gave fake numbers to indict us but it backfired. They had no option but to release the tricycles to us and this took about 2 to 4 days. This is a breach of our right we are talking about,” he said.
Going further, the Chairman said, when Vincent Uduaghan came on board in 2015 as Delta state commissioner of transport under the administration of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa he continued the victimisation of its members.
“Within the period Ben Igbakpa left office to contest House of Representatives, we were taken to court. While in court, we wrote a petition “Save Our Soul (SOS)” to the office of the National Security Adviser of the Presidency and National Human Rights Commission.
The NSA and the NHRC on January 16, 2016, ordered the Inspector General of Police (IGP) who was then Solomon Ehigiator Arase to investigate NACTOMORAS’ allegations and ensure that the chairman, returns to Delta state from self-exile. It was the order that prompted the Commissioner of Police to invite me, Vincent Uduaghan and others to his office. After then, our association was left to operate in the state.
“When COMTOA observed that their operations were going down they suggested to Vincent Uduaghan that they should raid us and the plan was effected. They carried out the raid on our people through the DPO in Ebrumede and DPOs in Enerhen, Warri and Uvwie. Eventually, I was in Warri so I called the Commissioner of Police Zainab Ibrahim and explained to him. The CP now called the Area Commander after he found out we were being raided by his men. All the tricycles seized and members arrested were released.
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“When Hon Oviemuno Oghoore came on board as Delta State Commissioner for Transport, he wrote a petition against me through Vincent Omoniyi Omololu, Directorate Ministry of Transport to the Commissioner of Police and went on air to describe my association as dissident body and mandated the latter to ensure members of NACTOMORAS should be made to face the full wrath of the law,” he added.
Efforts made by The Trumpet to speak to Mr Vincent Uduaghan, Mr Oviemuno Oghoore and Hon. Benjamin Igbakpa proved abortive as they did not pick up calls nor respond to messages.
