SPECIAL REPORT: Extortion, Blood and Impunity Behind Abuja’s Agbero Menace

SPECIAL REPORT: Extortion, Blood and Impunity Behind Abuja’s Agbero Menace By Come on us, On the evening of September 3, 2025, life ended abruptly for a family at Mabushi Bridge in Abuja, the nation’s capital city. The sun had barely dipped, and the traffic was light when a Toyota Highlander, carrying Mr. Emeka Ehekeme, his wife, and two companions, was forced into chaos. What began as an ordinary drive turned into a nightmare when a gang of roadside touts, popularly known as “Agberos,” swooped on the car. They pounded on the doors, pulled at the handles, and forced themselves in, shouting as they fought to seize control of the steering wheel. In the struggle, the vehicle swerved violently, becoming a coffin on wheels. In moments, four lives were lost in a tragedy that never should have happened. The attackers were not robbers or kidnappers. They were the city’s self-styled transport enforcers—men parading as agents of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW). By the time the dust settled, yet another family lay shattered, and the capital once again reeled from violence carried out in full view of authority. And this was not the first. Abuja has seen too many deaths like this—avoidable, senseless, and soaked in impunity. In 2022, the city grieved for Kehinde Adigun, a young technician known fondly as Kenny, who lived in Tungamaje along the Zuba–Gwagwalada expressway. To support his meagre earnings, Kenny occasionally picked up passengers. At Lugbe Car Wash bus stop, his refusal to let touts seize his car ended with a fatal stab to the chest. He bled out before he could be rushed to a hospital. His death, like Emeka’s, was another needless sacrifice on the altar of official negligence. A City Under Siege For motorists in the FCT, the menace has become a daily ordeal. One in five drivers has a story of harassment. The methods are chillingly uniform: they target any car that drops or picks up passengers, real or perceived. The gangs strike like a unit—one man at the driver’s door grabbing the key, others smashing mirrors, ripping off number plates, deflating tyres, or even disconnecting batteries. In that moment, the motorist is stripped of dignity and left helpless. The ransom for release? A “bailout fee” that can be as little as ₦7,000 on the spot or as high as ₦30,000 if the car is dragged into their so-called “office.” But money is only one part of the loss. The greater wound is psychological. The trauma lingers, long after tyres are replaced and windows are fixed. Abdulrahman Abdulraheem, Editor of PRNigeria and Economic Confidential, still lives with the memory of his ordeal. “After dropping a colleague at Berger, they pounced on me. Before I could even step out, one was already deflating my tyre. I parted with ₦7,000 to avoid more damage, but they dragged me to their office and demanded another ₦25,000. I had to call a colleague for help. Till today, I panic whenever I park and see strangers hovering around.” *Collusion with the Police*

What terrifies victims the most is not just the boldness of the touts but the silence of those sworn to protect. Many allege that the police turn a blind eye—or worse, work hand in glove with the gangs. Bolt driver, Gabriel Isaiah, recalled a harrowing encounter at Apo Bridge. Touts smashed his side glass in full view of uniformed policemen standing only metres away. When he sought their help, their response was crushing: “Settle with them.” For civil servant Umar Tanko, it was sheer luck and his Ministry of Defence ID card that saved him. “They dragged me to their park. Even the policemen there sided with them until I showed my ID. That was when they intervened. Without it, I’m not sure what would have happened. They work together,” he told Politics Digest. Police Shift Blame to AMAC The FCT Police Command insists the culprits are not touts but members of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) Task Force. Police spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, admitted that their operations had endangered the public. She disclosed that the FCT Commissioner of Police had ordered AMAC to withdraw its operatives or risk arrests. “The Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, convened a meeting on September 8, 2025, during which he issued a clear directive to the council to immediately withdraw its task force operatives from the roads. Failure to comply, he warned, would compel Divisional Police Officers to arrest any operatives found engaging in such unlawful or disruptive activities,” Adeh said, in a phone chat with our Politics Digest reporter.. But AMAC quickly distanced itself. Its Supervisory Councillor for Special Duties, Hon. Emmanuel Inyang, speaking on AIT, denied any link: “They are not our staff. We never gave permits for those parks. The passes they flaunt are from transport unions regulated by the FCTA, not AMAC. We too have been victims of their excesses.” Solution Underway – Minister Wike’s Camp At the Federal Capital Territory Administration, officials say the matter is firmly on the minister’s desk. Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications to Minister Nyesom Wike, confirmed that at least two high-level meetings have been held since the Mabushi tragedy. “The minister has directed relevant authorities to act. Very soon, this menace will be history. But Nigerians too must check their indiscipline. Government cannot do everything,” Olayinka revealed to Politics Digest. The Way Out At the heart of the crisis lies confusion. On one side, AMAC’s task force harasses motorists over permits. On the other, self-styled NURTW enforcers attack drivers under the guise of union authority. Both operate with identical methods—force, intimidation, extortion. And both leave residents terrified. The solution requires more than words. The FCT Minister must move beyond meetings to decisive action: regulate or disband these groups, empower the police to arrest touts instead of colluding with them, sanction officers who aid extortion, and establish monitored, legitimate motor parks.

Illegal parks must be dismantled, offenders prosecuted. Until then, Abuja residents will continue to drive in fear. Each journey will carry the same haunting question: how many more must die before government acts?