By Adadareporters
A human rights activist, Barr Ray Nnaji, Wednesday, cautioned operatives of the Enugu State Vehicle Inspection Services (VIO) and their traffic regulatory counterparts, MOT, against high-handedness. Nnaji, who was reacting to an alleged killing of a Keke operator in Enugu, said there are copious judgements that have declared operations of VIO illegal.
According to him, “The Court of Appeal’s verdict on VIOs is binding on all the states. The problem is that some people don’t know the limit of their rights. VIO operatives and those of MOT should be careful when carrying out their duties. They harass everybody. They should read the law establishing them. Citizens have their own rights. These operatives are paid from tax-payers’ money. Those on the road should be humane.”
Mr Val Chime, Director, Vehicle Inspection Services in the state, has however debunked the news making the rounds that a Keke rider was killed after being arrested by the operatives of Vehicle Inspection Services at Okpara Square last week.
Describing the viral video as malicious, Chime said that he was contacted when the encounter happened, and when he got there alongside the police, they could not find the alleged corpse.
In his words, “We went to the scene, and met few people there. I demanded to see the dead body of the alleged victim. I was told that the Keke rider later got up and was carried away. He must have pretended to have died to send a wrong signal. Police are investigating the matter. There was never such a case.”
According to him, the incident occurred when an operative of the inspectorate was taking the rider to the office after being accused of an offence, adding that, “The lady was taken the offender to our office when they hit another Keke. The accident was caused by the carelessness of the Keke rider.”
He revealed that the operatives of the inspectorate are not authorised to chase vehicles in motion, adding that VIO is backed by the law.
On various judgements declaring VIO operations illegal, Chime said, “We still have avenues to overturn the judgements. Section 4 of the constitution empowers states to make laws that are not in the exclusive list. States have rights in the residual list. Traffic laws fall into this list. The governor can also issue an executive order. There are laws that empower us to be on the road because we can’t inspect vehicles in our offices.”
He affirmed the commitment of the inspectorate to ensure that rickety vehicles are eliminated from the state metropolis. In his words, “We won’t allow rickety vehicles on our roads for the safety of commuters. We have feedback mechanisms, where our erring officers and men can be reported for questioning and punishment if found culpable.”
The video had displayed encounters between Keke riders and VIO officials, with an alleged dead body of the Keke operators lying outside the gutter of the road. A female officer of the VIO operative whose trousers were torn was seen describing how she was taking the rider to their office when they had a collision with another Keke.”
