TELL Magazine

Passengers along the NTA and University of Port Harcourt route in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital have been going through hell since Wednesday when drivers of commercial buses and taxis pulled off the road. They did so to protest the killing of one of their members by a member of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, on Tuesday. The NSCDC personnel was attached to the Task Force on Illegal Motor Parks and Street Trading, who have been a thorn in the flesh of drivers and people that hawk wares in the streets of Port Harcourt.

The passengers, who have had to walk long distances to get to their destinations, have appealed to the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike to intervene, and bring the killer corps members to justice.

“You can see there is no bus. Everybody is trekking. The experience is terrible. Government should intervene and stop this suffering,” said one of the passengers, who said he was trying to trek to Rumuokwuta Junction, where he could get bus to take him to the heart of the city.

The drivers on their part said they would not resume work on the road for one week to protest the constant harassment of their members by members of the Rivers State Task Force on Illegal Motor Parks and Street Trading.

“No taxi will work. No bus will work because Wike’s task force are not trying. There is no bus all along the Ada George – Choba route for us to park and drop passengers. So the task force men continue to harass us and smash our buses when we stop and drop passengers,” said one of the drivers.

The deceased driver was shot dead by the NSCDC member during an argument over alleged illegal parking.