•Operate like touts, attack and invade moving vehicles
•They had caused human deaths through accidents
•Abia going tough on oppressive, illegal collectors —Govt
•We’ll roll out hotlines, desk offices for public complaints —Abia Govt
•Enugu should create portal for electronic payment of levies —Tricycle operator
By Anayo Okoli, Vincent Ujumadu, Steve Oko, Chimaobi Nwaiwu, Chinedu Adonu & Nwabueze Okonkwo
ACTIVITIES of state governments’ revenue agents in the South East region are worrisome. The way they harass, intimidate and extort motorists on the roads and on the streets is very disturbing. In dangerous and brigandage manner, they jump into moving vehicles; including trucks, grab the steering and struggle with the drivers to forcefully stop them. This is bizarre and condemnable. Their actions have led to fatalities, including deaths. Revenue collection in the states is chaotic as there are dozens of agents, with different names, collecting different taxes and levies imposes by the governments. And many of them do this through harassment, intimidation and extortion.
The story is the same in the five sates of the region.
A recent trending incident in Onitsha where revenue collectors viciously attacked a citizen attracted condemnation and even the state government’s intervention is one case in point.
High-handedness, Soludo chases away revenue touts from the roads.
Street touting which people were not used to in Anambra State in the previous administrations has become common since the emergence of Governor Chukwuma Soludo. Indeed it came as a surprise as fierce- looking men aged between 25 and 35 years have been parading the streets with hooked metals to harass motorists who pull by the side of the road to either answer telephone calls or check fault in their vehicles. They were even given one funny name; the Unified Hybrid Enforcement Team (UHBET) and they claim to be working for the Anambra State Internal Revenue Service, AIRS.
They usually move in shuttle buses and once they block the driver, they do a video record of the environment and the vehicle, while one of them would force the driver out of the steering after snatching the vehicle keys.
They then inform the driver that he had committed an offence that attracts N50,000 fine, but that he might be allowed to go if he could give them N30,000 without receipt. Those who refuse to cooperate are forced to the Anambra Road Traffic Management Agency, ARTMA office where the four tyres of the vehicle are immediately deflated and the victim is abandoned while they head to the streets again to catch other victims.
Most of the victims are non- residents of the state who are not aware of the new bad policy.
Some of the agents told South- East Voice that they are not placed on any salary; they feed their families with the commission from the amount they are able to generate for government.
“I don’t like this job because of the curses I receive from people, but there is nothing I can do because I have no other job to do. We were promised during the political campaigns that government would find jobs for us after the election, but we have not seen the jobs,” one of them said.
Recently, two members of the UHBET were seen dragging out a Benin City-bound driver from his vehicle and drove the vehicle away. They told the man that he owed N37,000 and before the man could say anything, they started dragging him along the tarred road.
Reacting on the high-handedness of the revenue agents, Press Secretary to Governor Chukwuma Soludo, Mr. Christian Aburime said: “Although the UHBET has the mandate to enforce every revenue payment accrued from commercial transport operators plying the roads of Anambra State, its personnel are not supposed to do so in a violent way.
“It is regrettable that some members of the public have been circulating videos and wrongly insinuating that the state government authorised the actions of the misguided officers. No, Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo did not and would never authorise such crude ways of engaging the public for whatever reason.
“In Anambra’s new evolving society built on principles of law and order, human rights, fairness and empathy, the trending incident involving the unwholesome actions of the UHBET officers are absolutely unacceptable. As much as the viral video has understandably provoked public outrage, the actions captured in it do not in any way represent the approach of the state government or portray the engagement rules of the Revenue Service.
“So, the Anambra State Government hereby dissociates itself entirely from the indecorous activities of the overzealous revenue officers and offer sincere apologies to the mistreated individual and the wider community of Ndi Anambra.”
The chairman of AiRS, Dr. Greg Ezeilo also ordered for a thorough investigation which has led to the arrest of the offending officers.
Meanwhile, Governor Soludo has reduced charges paid by traffic offenders to N5,000 and because the business is no longer profitable for them, most of the revenue agents have voluntarily abandoned the drive.
The state government has also announced that the enforcement agencies of the Anambra State Internal Revenue Service, including ANJET and UHBET, will undergo proper retraining and reorientation programmes “to instill a deep sense of responsibility, empathy, professionalism and respect for human rights among the operatives.”
“We recognise that tax collection is vital for the development of our great state, but it should never come at the expense of basic human dignity and decency”, the Government said.
Story different in Onitsha
However, the story seems to be different in Onitsha as residents of the commercial city say a lot of touting in the name of revenue collection still goes on. Their notorious activities are witnessed mostly in areas like Uga Junction to Atani in Ogbaru Council Area; Onitsha-Owerri road, Nkpor to Onitsha, old road and new road and Oguta road in Onitsha metropolis. They are also seen on Awka to Old and New Market roads leading to the popular Onitsha Main Market as well as on the Nsugbe-Nkwelle Ezunaka Road, also at the foot of the old Niger Bridge up to Upper Iweka flyover, which could be described as their operational headquarters. Surprisingly, in addition to week days, these illegal operators also work on Saturdays and Sundays with impunity. “Government and its officials turn bind eyes to the illegal and violent activities of these touts because they are backing them. They use that to settle their political thugs and boys. They are also in the other urban and semi-urban areas like Nnewi, Ekwuluobia, Umunze, Amawbia and Nnobi, among others. The impunity with which they operate unchallenged tends to lend credence to the claim by residents that they truly have the backing of the state government.
“I am a graduate of Industrial Chemistry, from a university in the North. I don’t have a job yet that is why I am driving this tricycle to avoid staying idle. It’s only in the South-East, particularly Anambra State that you will see people collecting revenue on the roads in the name of government revenue agents. You can never see this kind of thing in any state in the North”, an angry tricycle driver said.
Another tricycle operator, Mr. Japheth Akudili, retorted: “Who is the tout collecting N5,000 from Main Market to Ochanja Market without any receipt? Is it fair for somebody to buy things at Onitsha Main Market and pay N5,000 to touts? Who are they working for? The state government cannot claim ignorance of their activities. You cannot ask us to be paying your government N2, 500 every week and still unleash touts on us.”
These embarrassing activities of the revenues drivers attracted the anger of a visiting US-based Nigerian priest, Ven. Augustine Okafor, who bemoaned the violent activities of road traffic agents and other touts extorting money from motorists and others, including wheelbarrow pushers.
“Onitsha, the commercial city of Anambra State is not enjoyable at all. People are not contented. People want to acquire what they cannot afford and what they don’t need, they are not contented with what they have.
“Even the road users hardly allow each other, everybody wants to move at the same time, it is a terrible situation.
“You are on the road, touts are struggling with you for the key to your car, while fellow motorists are struggling with you on the road; nobody wants to give each other chance.”
A lawmaker, Hon. Fred Ezenwa representing Onitsha South 2 state constituency at Anambra State House of Assembly said that it falls squarely within the purview of Governor Soludo to checkmate the violent activities of these state government revenue collectors who go about constituting nuisance and extorting motorists.
“In as much as I am not saying that they should stop collecting revenues for the state government, they should do it with utmost civility”, Ezenwa said.
We’re changing the narratives; sanitize revenue collection—Abia govt
In Abia, the Government has commenced a total clampdown on oppressive flying revenue collectors who have become weapons of oppression to motorists. On assumption of office, Governor Alex Otti declared war on touts who unleash mayhem on motorists and tricycle operators, both at motor parks and on the roads. The Governor set up a taskforce to go after the perpetrators who have hitherto held sway unchallenged.
He warned that his administration would not tolerate the old order where Government watched with criminal silence while touts terrorised innocent motorists under the guise of revenue collection and vowed to deal decisively with illegal revenue collectors.
Ferdinand Ekeoma, the governor’s Special Adviser on Media, said that tremendous success had been recorded in the clampdown on touts and sanitization of the revenue collection system in the state.
“There has been huge improvement. In fact, we have put a stop to the extortions and harassments by touts on the roads. We are now in the process of restoring sanity in our revenue collection system. Admitted that there will always be one or two isolated cases, the truth is that it is no longer business as usual. Right now, we are putting measures in place to have well organised and responsible taskforce that will checkmate the activities of unauthorised individuals constituting nuisance on our roads.
“The revenue collection system will be automated even though that may not be very easy to apply on flying revenues. We will try as much as possible to eliminate fraud and extortion. We will appoint responsible persons as flying revenue collectors, and they must operate in strict compliance with stipulated guidelines to be released by Government.
“The new Government under Governor Alex Otti, will not allow any tout under the guise of revenue collection to constitute nuisance to road users in Abia or put lives of road users at risk. Anybody engaging in such act will be dealt with accordingly.
“Very soon, Government will roll out hot lines and desk offices where victims and members of the public can lodge their complaints against such exploitations and illegalities for swift action”, Ekeoma said.
In Enugu, one of the agencies notorious for reckless revenue driving and extortion is the MOT attached to the state ministry of transport. The operatives illegally arrest their victims; divert them to less busy streets or corners to negotiate how much to extort from them and none of the money goes into government’s coffers. Often times they are seen rough handling and quarreling with motorists and tricycle operators who resist them. They are everywhere in Enugu metropolis roaming the streets in search of prey. However, those of them deployed to control traffic are refined and do their work diligently.
A commercial tricycle operator, Dino Martins who had been a victim to them and other revenue collectors, condemned their activities and called on the Enugu State Government to urgently automate its revenue collection system. He said that the enforcers and agents are not helping the government but are out to enrich themselves.
Recently, some people who claimed to be officials of Enugu North Local Government council stormed some streets around Obiagu area, including Edinburgh road and adjourning streets, forcefully carting away peoples wares and belongings in the name of collecting businesses premises taxes.
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