Touts Beat Keke Rider To Stupor For Insisting On Soludo’s Policy

IZUNNA OKAFOR

An unidentified tricyclist, on Saturday, received the beatings of his life from a gang of touts in Awka, the Anambra State capital, for allegedly refusing to pay them at the park where he operates, on the ground that the new Governor of the state, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has banned touting in the state.

The incident, which happened at the popular UNIZIK Temp. Site, Awka, created a dramatic scene and an artificial snarl-up that lasted for minutes along the road, as drivers, market women and customers trooped out to feed their eyes.

According to an eyewitness, who identified himself as Frank Akpan, the touts, numbering up to three accosted the tricyclist and requested him to pay them the usual ₦200 each tricyclist pays at the pit (park) before his first loading from Temp. Site to Ngozi Estate every day.

He said “However, the tricyclist, on hearing that, laughed and mocked at them, and asked them to go and look for something else to be doing, as touting has expired in Anambra, except they were the only people who had not heard that Soludo has banned touting in the state”.

“But the touts insisted and told him they were not ready for such jokes. One of them also told the tricyclist to call Soludo and tell him to go to his hometown, Isuofia and implement such unrealistic policy, as such is neither for them nor fidgets them.”

Frank also added that the touts boasted to have survived many of such policies during Obiano’s administration, and wondered why Soludo thinks he can achieve what Obiano could not achieve in eight years in just his less than one week in office. 

In his word, “The touts told the Keke man “Soludo ka batara ọhụrụ n’ọchịchị, ọ marọ ka anyị siri kwado. Mama with time, ọ ga-ekwete na ọ na-eme. Guy biko nye anyị ego ka anyị waa here.””

He said as the touts were still speaking, the tricyclist told them their problem was illiteracy and ignorance, and then started his tricycle to leave, without giving them the money they were requesting.

These, he said, angered the touts, who did not only seize his foot march, but also forcefully pulled him out of his tricycle and started throwing punches on his face, while he grabbed and tightly held one of them on the penis.

However, before people could separate them, the tricyclist’s face, his cheeks and all his mouth regions were already swollen, while blood was also dropping from his mouth.

Recall that Gov. Soludo had, during his inauguration on Thursday, banned all form of touting and cash payment of taxes in the state.

This however, is obviously yet to be fully implemented, as some touts and self-acclaimed revenue agents still parade themselves and harass innocent people to make one payment or the other.

A young man in his late twenties was also spotted yesterday, Friday, at that same UNIZIK Junction harassing some of the women who were hawking mango in area, forcing them to buy ‘daily ticket’ which he claimed to have been authorised by the state government for sale to all hawkers in Anambra every day.

Some of the victims said the young man and his ticket were confirmed totally illegal by a senior staff at the Anambra State Internal Revenue Service sometime last year.

While noting that they were, however, yet to see any law enforcement agency come and arrest the tout since then; they called on the newly-sworn-in Governor of the state, Prof. Soludo to come to their rescue with outright implementation of the new policy against touting in the state, as touts are now beginning to enjoy and feed on their sweat more than they who actually sweat.