Luxury bus owners in the country are grumbling over incessant robbery attacks of their buses along the highways saying that the fate of their 30,000 employees was now hanging in the balance as they can no longer break even, talk less of paying their salaries.
The Association of Luxury Bus Owners of Nigeria, ALBON, said that apart from the lives of their employees and passengers being threatened, their vehicles were becoming difficult to maintain as most of them had been put out of business due to security of lives and property of passengers which can no longer be guaranteed.
The bus owners who spoke to South East Voice said that in the South East and South- South zones in particular, the roads were so bad that no bus driver could embark on a two day journey and complete same within four days; if they would ever complete such journey at all.
Luxury bus business in the country is more prevalent in the South East geopolitical zone as most of transporters are Igbo.
Popular bus transport companies like Ekene Dili Chukwu, Ifesinachi, The Young Shall Grow, G.U.O, P. N Emerah, First Tarzan, Mic Merah New Tarzan and Chiemezie are all owned by people from the geopolitical zone.
Other foremost bus transport companies owned by Igbo include Ekeson, ABC, Izuchukwu and Chidiebere Transport Company Limited.
The National Vice President of ALBON, Chief Sabastine Udemba who spoke with the South East Voice in an interview lamented how he lost one of his drivers to armed robbers just as the Managing Director of Uchenna Motors, Mr. Uchenna Maduako, said that the union had lost over 10 of their drivers and several other passengers to the hoodlums since the beginning of this year.
Udemba said, “We have summoned several emergency meetings of ALBON to find solution to the armed robbery attacks which had been militating against our businesses.
The most recent attack on one of our members necessitated the recent meeting we had in Onitsha, the driver of the vehicle would have lost his life if he did not escape from the bus.
“We can no longer keep quiet while our drivers and passengers are robbed and killed on daily basis. To us this is a sabotage If the Federal Government and the governors of the states where our vehicles were waylaid or ambushed and our drivers and passengers robbed or killed are not worried, they should tell us so that we can close our companies and start other businesses.
The attacks are unbearable. “These attacks are more rampant on northern routes such as Lagos- Kano road, Morkwa and Kabba in Niger and Kogi States as well as Gwagwalada- Abuja road. Others include Ankpa- Abuja roads, Big Boy Jos Plateau state road and Kaduna -Abuja road.
“Other routes where our vehicles are robbed include 9th Mille- 7 Up – Ugbokolo road, Benin Ijebu Ode road, Benin Bypass- Shagamu road, Uromi- Auchi- Abuja road, Okenne- Abuja road and Kaduna- Abuja- Bauchi road.”
Speaking further, Maduako said “we are not treated well by the government, after aviation, we are the next in transport sector that is keeping the nation moving, we are employing over 30,000 people in our offices and parks in the whole federation, if we decide to close our transport companies to do other businesses, our employees will be thrown into the unemployment market.
Protection from law enforcement agents
“We deserve protection from law enforcement agents, the Federal Government should direct state Commissioners of Police, Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers to sit up on security issues on our roads, sometimes armed robbers disguise themselves as law enforcement agents to rob us, where they get those uniforms they use to rob us we do not know.
Narrating last week s attack of his vehicle at Enugu, Maduako said “the incident took place at the 9th Mile Corner by 7 Up Bottling Company, Enugu State,” adding that the driver was forced to run into a ditch by the armed robbers who robbed all the passengers.
“Our problem started immediately after 9th Mile, all those checkpoints believed to be for the Police have all been taken over by armed robbers, most of the time they rob us using security agencies uniforms.
“The 9th Mile Corner incident happened when my luxury bus was climbing a hill and the driver saw armed robbers, not knowing that they divided themselves into two groups, and he decided to go back with reverse to park in a safe place, but was attacked from behind by another group and the driver jumped out of the bus and rushed to the police to report but help did not come from them.
“The bus lost control and fell into a ditch, passengers were screaming in the ditch, the robbers went into the ditch robbed all the occupants, after the incident we started rescuing them and sent for another bus, some with load stayed there for two days trying to arrange their scattered goods.
“Two days after we arranged another bus to take them to their destination, the same armed robbers came and robbed them in the second bus we provided for them to continue their journey, immediately they moved not up to a pole from the scene of the first incident.
Some other dangerous spots where our vehicles are robbed and people killed are in Obollo Afor a particular place called Umuna near Nigerian Customs checkpoint, armed robbers operate with uniforms there, then before you get to Ankpa branch, there is another place called Inyi, a boundary between Nsukka and Ankpa in Kogi State and Ugbokolo in Benue State are the most dangerous places where we are constantly robbed.”
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