Commuters Stranded As Commercial Tricycle Riders Protest Extortion, Multiple Taxation In Adamawa

According to a report by SaharaReporters, a lot of commercial activities were disrupted in Yola, the capital city of Adamawa State, as commercial tricycle riders blocked major roads to protest against extortion and multiple taxation.

It was learnt that the protesters who later turned violent disrupted traffic flow by burning used tyres on Mohammed Mustapha Way, connecting the Jimeta modern market and the popular Mubi roundabout in the heart of the metropolis.

Business owners and shop owners around the area hurriedly closed for the day and fled to safe places before the police arrived at the scene.

One of the leaders of the protesters, Mohammed Galadima, said, "We are protesting because of the charges we are being subjected to pay every day.”

"We pay N100 in the morning and by noon, they ask you to pay another N100. More worrisome is that if you ride into Yola South from Yola North, you pay another money even when you can hardly differentiate between the two local government areas," he added.

"Apart from these amounts, we also pay N6,500 every year to the state government through the Ministry of Transportation," another rider said.

They also accused the Jimeta Marshall, a traffic control agency in Yola North Local Government Area of extortion.

"They'll charge you for nothing and collect money without issuing receipts," a tricycle rider said.

When contacted, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Asiyale Ananze, said, "The ministry introduced a digitalised registration of all tricycle owners and riders in the state to reduce security challenges involving commercial tricycles, popularly known as Keke Napep.

"We asked them to buy a form for N1,000 and another N3,000 which was paid to the Board of Internal Revenue. The N3,000 is an annual fee for all tricycles in the state, it is not true that we collected N6,500.

"Since we introduced the digitalised registration of tricycles, we have been able to trace and recover items stolen from commuters who were dispossessed of them.”