Alleged Extortion :Kaduna Commercial Vehicle Drivers Protest Against KASTELEA
Kaduna metropolis and environs yesterday was through into confusion as commercial vehicles protested against alleged money extortion, harrassament by officials of the Kaduna State Traffic and Environmental Law Enforcement Agency (KASTELEA).
Following the protest that lasted several hours before the situation normalised, several potential passengers where seen treking long distances as the commercial drivers took to the major streets preventing vehicular movement of commercial vehicles, tricycle (like Napep) and motorcycles.
Commercial vehicles already loaded with passengers where forced to offload them and the vehicles made to take leaves in solidarity with their protest.
Some of the protesters who spoke to our correspondent, they alleged that once KASTELEA officials arrest them, they get subjected to all manners of harassment and made to pay between N20,000 and N50,000 which had rendered many of them jobless as they could no longer afford the charges levelled against them over minor offences like ‘wrong’ parking among other pardonable offences .
The protest was initially misunderstood as most people thought the protest was a riot and was almost sending wrong signals to other parts of the State before the situation was brought under control.
Meanwhile, addressing newsmen to clarify on the activities of the agency, the General Manager of KASTELEA, Colonel Abdulkadir Zubairu Ahmed alleged that the protest may have political under tone, saying the authority of Road Transport Workers in the state have dissociated themselves from the protest saying the protesters may not be their members and condemned the protest which threatened peace of the state.
He said KASTELEA was established and backed with law and its operations by the state assembly and can only be reviewed by the same.
He said the agency was aware of their complains and was working out mortality with the union leadership and relevant stakeholders towards addressing the issues.
On His part, Chairman of National Union of Road Transport Workers in Kaduna, Alhassan Haruna 313 who denied that those protesting are not their members also alleged that the protesters may be sponsored miscreants who are bent on creating crisis in the State.
But as at the time of filing this report, no single KASTELEA officials was seen on duty as they all have taken cover for their lives even though the situation has been brought under control by security personnels.
“El-Rufai must come here and see what his boys are doing to us. Some of our members have become jobless because their vehicles have been seized by this people called KASTELEA. We don’t want them again. Their own is becoming too much”, one of the protestters said.
“this party under el-Rufai is causing us pains and hardship in the State and we will vote them out in 2019 walahitalahi” he further swore.
