Review Crime, Traffic Situations at Onitsha – HURIJE Tells Obiano.

Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano has been called upon to as a matter of urgency review the security and traffic situations at Upper Iweka and Bridgehead, Onitsha in Anambra State.

The Human Right, Liberty Access and Peace Defenders Foundation (HURIJE),which made the call in a press conference at Onitsha raised fresh alarm of another impending danger at Upper Iweka near Toronto hospital and Tracas bus Terminals.

The chairman,BOT of HURIJE, Dede Uzor A.Uzor, who addressed the press conference with its legal secretary, Bar Ada Obinna Edozie, said that Upper Iweka and Bridgehead and their environs remained the major flash points in crime and traffic accidents in the State.

HURIJE said their investigation showed that most accidents and criminal activities in the State took place in these areas due to lack of political will and corruption on part of security agencies .
They lamented that a lady recently lost her life at Upper Iweka when she resisted some criminals who snatched her bag and other valuables.

The group called on the Inspector-General of Police and the State Commissioner of Police,Mr Mustapha Dandaura to beam their search lights on their men who block the Onitsha end of Bridge between 7am to 10am and 5pm to 10 pm everyday, creating enormous traffic hold-up at the area and openly extorting money from motorist.

The group said ” their penchant to collect bribe from motorists have continued to cause traffic jam at the Under the Bridge on daily basis”

They also asked the Corp Marshal of Federal Road Safety Commission to call to order his men at Bridgehead who constitute traffic jam on daily basis by operating at Onitsha section of the bridge not minding the volume of traffic.

They said that due to the nature and strategic importance of the bridge, security agencies who cause traffic jam there should heceforth stay clear from the place, lamenting that in a bid to maximally extort the motorists these security operatives cause traffic jam in order to either pursue a vehicle or extort money from him.

That Bridgehead alone, they said, harbour the military,the Police CTU, Road Safety personnel and touts which collect illegal levies and inturn impinging on free flow of traffics.

The group also asked the Governor to do something drastic about the thriving drug market at Aba Park otherwise known as “Down Flyover “, which has created criminal elements who rob people at Owerri Road as from 7pm to dawn and from 5am time 7am on daily basis.

HURIJE however lauded the FRSC Corp Marshal for putting a traffic control booth near Toronto Hospital to check the excesses of motorists in that part of the commercial town, saying that their presence has reduced choatic traffic situation of the place.

The group urged the Corp Marshal to direct the state sector Commander to make sure that the men stay on their duty post on regular basis.

HURIJE further said that the Road Safety should also extend their decongestion to the right sections of Upper Iweka especially at Tracas by Toronto hospital where Asaba bus drivers load on the highway, constituting serious traffic danger especially with heavy articulated vehicles who normally fails break and rammed into loading buses.

They said in the past, there have been series of accidents, which claimed many lives because the government and other strategic stakeholders turned deaf ears to their early warnings by HURIJE.