By SUZAN EDEH, Bauchi

The Bauchi state government has ordered for the auctioning of seized commercial motorcycles to their original owners, beginning from Monday, the 10th of August 2020.

The State commissioner of Information, Garba Dahiru who stated this during the weekend, said that the gesture was meant to cushion the hardship faced by the owners of the seized motorcycles.

“You may recall that in the month of April 2020, the Bauchi state government under the leadership of His Excellency, Senator Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir banned the activities of commercial motorcycle operators popularly known as Achaba and the carrying of passengers on motorcycles to date”

“Over 100 motorcycles were seized from those who violated the ban on commercial motorcycle operations by the government in the state.

The ban was not meant to impose hardship on the citizens but to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and in compliance to other COVID 19 protocols.Following the ban, the state government established a mobile court to try the violators” he said

The Commissioner said that the court in carrying out it duties was to forfeit to the Bauchi state government, the over 100 motorcycles confiscated from those who violated the law, adding that the state government directed that the forfeited motorcycles should be auctioned to no other person but to the original owners.

He said that auctioning exercise would be done after presentation of genuine evidence of ownership of the seized motorcycles and the auction shall be at the rate of N5,000.

Garba warned the citizens of the state to strictly comply with the law, banning the operation of commercial motorcycles, especially in major cities of the state.

“With this, the rumours that have been going round that Bauchi state government has confiscated motorcycles belonging motorcycle operators should come to an end as there is nothing like that. The Bauchi state government has no intention whatsoever, to confiscate or seize any of the forfeited motorcycles.That cannot not even happen because, initially the motorcycles were forfeited by a court of law” he said

Also speaking, Mohammed Mukhtar Abubakar who is the judge of the COVID-19 partial lock down mobile court in the state said that his court has been lenient to offenders in the state, knowing fully well of the economic challenges experienced by the citizens of the state due to the Coronavirus pandemic. (Sunday Independent)

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