Police Command in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) said it has arrested four suspects and impounded 21 cars over illegal car races and other similar offences in Abuja.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the FCT, DSP Josephine Adeh made this known in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
The children of the rich and affluent in Abuja are notorious for organising deadly car racing, especially during holidays, where they drive recklessly in a bid to outrun each other and show off the sophistry of their luxurious cars on highways around the city centre.
However, FCT residents have raised alarm over the endangerment of lives, property and infrastructure posed by these deadly races. The outcry prompted the police to enforce the prohibition of car and speed races in the nation’s capital.
The CP in a statement signed by DSP Josephine Adeh “noted that Section 228 of the National Road Traffic Regulations, 2012 is clear on the prohibition of any car race, drag race, acceleration contest, test of physical endurance, exhibition of speed, etc.”
Adeh said the enforcement team, led by the Commissioner of Police (CP) in charge of the FCT, Mr Babaji Sunday arrested and impounded the cars on Sunday.
The PPRO said the suspects were arrested around Muhammadu Buhari way, by Nicon Insurance Area where they converged for business as usual.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Police Command in the FCT, on Thursday, ordered full enforcement of the prohibition of all kinds of car and speed races in the territory.
The CP directed all the Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) and their supervisory Area Commanders to ensure full enforcement of the prohibition in their Respective Area of Responsibility (AoR).
The police commissioner further warned “that any person or group caught organising or participating in the prohibited car racing event would be arrested and prosecuted accordingly.”
He encouraged citizens to be their brother’s keeper by reporting violators on the command’s hotlines – 08032003913, 08061581938, 07057337653 and 08028940883.
Mr Sunday also said they could report suspicious activity that threatens public peace and national security on the hotlines.
Via NAN.
