EDITORIAL

This medium has received many complaints against the operatives of the sub-committee on “armed recovery and thuggery” led by Aliyu Alhazzai the former Commander of Zamfara Road Traffic Agency (ZAROTA).

The complaint is against the road block allegedly mounted by his operatives along federal mortgage bank housing estate in Daza along Gusau-Kaura Namoda road.

According to one of the complainants who is a resident of the estate where the road block has been mounted “the operatives deployed by Alhazzai have resorted to using force against the commuters plying the road especially motorcycle riders who were forcefully stopped and subjected to paying of fines ranging from (N500) and above.

He said the enforcement of the fine against the motorcycle riders is not the major source of worry to the people, but the forceful manner in which they handled the motorcycle riders, which according to them has become a source of worry to every reasonable human being.

According to the information available to this medium, the operatives used to stop motorcycle riders and asked them to open their petrol tanks and where they noticed the maximum level of the fuel is more than half of the tank they get the owner arrested and enforced a fine on him ranging from (N500) and above.

A confided source told this medium that, for those who refused to pay the fine, they sometimes get their motorcycle arrested and confiscated until the fine is enforced.

The source added that beside enforcement of the fine, they resorted to hitting motorcycle riders with sticks and other hard objects if they refused to stop for search nothing that, there were records of cases where the operatives injured many motorcycle riders and their passengers.

A motorcycle rider interviewed on Saturday along the road said last week Wednesday they battled with one motorcycle rider from “Yar Tukunya village” who refused to stop for search due to the fear oexploitative tendencies and eventually hit him with stick, he got crashed on the road and sustained fracture on his hand.

Another motorcycle rider interviewed the same day who wanted not to be named said, “on Thursday said he has to get two of his friends on bail from the operatives; hence they threatened to seize their motorcycles. They both paid a fine of (N1,000) before they are released.

A resident of the Daza estate who spoke to this medium said, “the operatives of the taskforce are openly doing their illegal deals they bargain for fine and collect money openly from the motorcycle riders and you can stop any one of the motorcycle riders plying this road and asked him of this story he will tell you his lamentations”.

The source added “there is a police officer that was attached to Aliyu Alhazzai since his days as ZAROTA Commander, and he has not been redeployed by the state police command, and instead there was an allegation that he aided the taskforce operatives in threatening the passengers using his police uniform and the official gun”.

This medium took more than a week to closely monitor the activities of these operatives of the taskforce and as at Sunday morning the 26th of December 202l we have taken fresh pictures of their continued operations in the same check point people are complaining about.

This medium has contacted the Secretary of the main taskforce committee set up by the state government, Barr. Abdul Rashid on phone and intimated him whether the taskforce is aware of the development regarding the alleged activities by the Aliyu Alhazzai subcommittee, and he confessed that he has received similar complaints from the public.

He told this medium that he has personally visited the location of the checkpoint and even interacted with the operatives, and also warned them to avoid anything that would tarnish the reputation of the government.

He said the rationale of setting up of the subcommittee on “armed recovery and thuggery is to ensure that movements of arms into the state are detected as well as prevent political thuggery.

He assured this medium and indeed the public that, the main taskforce would continue to watch things as they unfold and make sure that the public are not exploited at this very critical moment of hardship.

It is time the state government and indeed the taskforce take appropriate steps to address the grievance of the people plying that road.

Again, activities of sensitive subcommittee like this one headed by Alhazzai shall not be left unchecked because this usually caused a big panic among the people.