‘Bring Killers Of Our Members To Book’ – Bolt, Uber Drivers Beg Police

The Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transport Workers of Nigeria (AUATWON) has called on the police to bring the culprits of three drivers killed in Port Harcourt to book.

Their request followed the deaths of bolt drivers Roland Asuru, John Okon and Emmanuel Daniel by armed men. The union said Daniel’s killer absconded with his vehicle.

The union said the incident that led to the death of three of its bolt drivers in Port Harcourt was a coordinated attack.

“Another brutal killing and car snatching of a member in Abuja was reported at the Galadimawa area of Abuja on Wednesday,” the union said.

Revealing the circumstances that led to their death, the union, in a statement said, “Emmanual Daniel was driving to a pickup location where he was attacked after receiving a call from the passenger, and his killers snatched away his vehicle.

“Roland Asuru and John Okon were both shot dead while their cars were snatched by suspected robbers. There were reportedly failed attempts to snatch members’ cars at GRA, CFC Roundabout, and Ekeme.

Demanding justice for the deceased, the union said before now, it has requested for the Bolt app to enable the profiling of riders through any means of national identification as measures to protect drivers’ lives, but all to no avail.

The union said just as passengers can identify their drivers through pictures, plate numbers, and the colour of cars, the drivers should be given the same privilege.

“The union has been making a call on the app companies as part of a measure to prevent security breaches to profile riders adequately by making means of national ID a prerequisite for all passengers before they can board or take a rider on the app, but they have been very adamant and watches our members die a preventable death even without justice and compensation.

“As a registered trade union with the responsibility to protect our members against preventable circumstances like this, we are making a call on the Federal Government as a matter of urgency to direct the Ministry of Transport, Science, and Digital Economy or any relevant Ministry to direct this app-based companies to capture the NIN of the passengers before ordering a ride.

“We are also calling the Governor of River State, FCT Minister, and the police to facilitate investigation and bring these deadly killers to book while we, the family of the deceased, are compensated adequately by the government and app-company,” the union said.

The union urged its members to be security conscious at all times.

The state’s police spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, when contacted, asked for questions to be sent through a text.

As of press time, Iringe-Koko neither acknowledged the text nor responded to subsequent calls placed to her phone about an hour later.