Residents, CSO Alert Govt, Security Agencies To Unregistered Mini-Buses Plying Osogbo Roads

RESIDENTS of Osogbo, Osun State capital, have called the attention of the state government and security agencies to some commercial mini-buses (Korope) operating in the town without number plate. 

OSUN DEFENDER gathered that majority of the unregistered buses were given out as empowerment by Yeye Dupe Adeleke-Sanni foundation.

The medium noted that the drivers of the buses daily navigate security checkpoints without being challenged or sanctioned by the police.

However, a civil society group, Centre for Social Justice and Public Protection (CSJPP), frowned at the situation, saying the drivers of the mini-buses were taking undue advantage of the donour of the buses. 

This is just as some residents of Osogbo who spoke with the medium, described the refusal of the drivers of the buses as unideal, calling for an urgent correction, especially, from the security agencies. 

Speaking with the medium, a resident of Ayetoro in Olorunda local government of the state, Ganiyu Abbass, said the drivers failed to secure the number plate because of the influence of the person who donated the buses to them.

Abbass accused the police of not doing a good job by not acting on the unregistered buses.

He said: “It is very barbaric. How can a bus be plying our road without a number plate and the police would not do anything about it? 

“It is not as if they are not seeing what is happening. They decided to let it go because of the person who gave them the buses and the money they want to collect from the drivers. The drivers are also taking advantage of that.”

A trader at Ajegunle market, Victor Olamiju, noted that refusing to register the buses is a security threat, saying that the vehicle might not be easy to trace if any incident happened.

Olamiju also noted that criminals can also brand different vehicles with the name of the donour of the buses to perpetrate evil, knowing fully well that they can operate without any disturbance. 

He called on the state government to as a matter of urgency direct those using the buses to register them for proper identification. 

He said: “What it means is that if anything happens, it will be difficult to trace the bus and this can lead to a security crisis.

“Also, criminals can take advantage of the situation by branding different vehicles with the name of the donour since they know they won’t have a problem. The state government needs to act on this.”

Meanwhile, CSJPP Coordinator, Akin Akanji, in an interview with OSUN DEFENDER, accused the state government and security agencies of playing with the intelligence of residents of the state.

Akanji said the Nigeria Police Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Muyiwa Adejobi, recently announced that it is important and compulsory for all vehicles to be duly registered and their registration numbers visible at all times. 

He added that the police cannot vein ignorance, adding that those in charge of transportation in the state also know that refusing to register a vehicle is wrong. 

Akanji advised residents of the state to be alert and wary of the unregistered buses, while calling on the police to do the needful.

He said: “The state government and security agencies cannot claim ignorance on the matter. The buses are plying our roads every day and it is very risky.

“I can just appeal to the residents to be at alert whenever they are taking these buses. The security situation in the country is not too good at the moment and these are the kind of things that leave a gap for security breaches.

“The state government and the police need to absolve themselves by doing the needful. We can’t be punishing some sections while others would go freely because of their connections.”

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer for Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Osun sector command, Mrs Agnes Ogungbemi in a terse message said, “We shall look into what you said.”