Over four hours of disruption occurred on Friday along the busy Tran-Saharan Highway in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, as tricycle operators protested alleged extortion and multiple taxation by government agents. The highway, which connects Ebonyi, Cross River, and Taraba states in Nigeria, as well as Cameroon, was completely blocked, with protesters using their tricycles to obstruct adjacent roads and streets.
A major concern among the protesters was a new tricycle registration policy introduced by union leaders in collaboration with the state government. Operators claimed they were being forced to pay for a registration process they had already completed previously.
Moses Egede, one of the operators, revealed that they spend over ₦10,000 each week on taxes and alleged extortion. “On a daily basis, we pay ₦500 in ticket fees, along with other charges at various checkpoints manned by task forces. We are forced to buy tickets every day, whether heading to the International Market, Vanco Junction, Rice Mill, or Spera-in-deo,” he said.
Task forces were also accused of increasing ticket fees from ₦150 to ₦500 and using intimidation tactics. Nwokpoku Abraham, another protester, explained, “If we park by the roadside, officers often jump into our tricycles, deflate our tires, or impound our vehicles if we refuse to pay.”
The union chairman, Uguru Nwabueze, was criticized for allegedly supporting multiple taxation and imposing new registration requirements. However, Nwabueze denied the accusations, stating that the registration was introduced to establish a database of tricycle operators to prevent crimes committed using their vehicles. He assured members that the deadline for registration had been extended and that impounded tricycles had been returned.
Security personnel, including the police and army, were deployed to the scene to restore order. Following the intervention, normal traffic resumed, and vehicles that had been trapped along the highway were able to continue their journeys.
