Touts at the weekend descended on an unidentified tricycle operator for reportedly refusing to pay daily collection of N200 at the park where he operated in Awka, Anambra State.
The victim was said to have refused to part with the money, following the ban on touting by Governor Charles Soludo.
Soludo had, during his inauguration last Thursday, banned touting and cash payment of taxes.
An eyewitness, who identified himself as Frank Akpan, said the three touts accosted the tricycle operator and asked him to pay them the usual ¦ 200 each tricycle operator paid at the pit (park), before his first ‘loading’.
The source said: “The tricycle operator laughed and mocked them, asking them to go and look for something else to do, as touting had been banned in Anambra.
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“But the touts insisted and told him they were not ready for such jokes, boasting to have survived similar policies during ex-Governor Willie Obiano’s administration.”
He added that the angry touts forcefully pulled the tricycle operator out of his tricycle and punched him, resulting in swollen cheeks and blood gushing out from his mouth.
However, Police Commissioner Echeng Echeng has ordered enforcement of the government ban on touting and self-acclaimed revenue collectors.
Echeng, through spokesperson Ikenga Tochukwu urged the officers to ensure compliance with the order, especially at motor parks and other designated places.
He said: “The CP warns unscrupulous elements who engage in touting and other unlawful acts to desist, as the police and other security agents have been deployed to arrest and bring to justice anyone caught flouting this order.
“The police commissioner, while reaffirming the commitment of the command towards crime prevention, restoration of law and order, enjoins Ndi-Anambra and all residents of the state to be vigilant and security conscious at all times and report suspicious movement to the police.
