Commercial bus drivers plying the Badagry-Mile 2 axis of Lagos State, under the aegis of Mega-City Transport Association, MCTA, yesterday, urged the Lagos State government and security agencies to rescue them from extortion, assault and kidnapping, allegedly carried out by members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, and the Road Transport Employers’ Association of Nigeria, RTEAN.

Addressing newsmen in Lagos, Chairman of the MCTA, Mr. Jude Ogunmola, accused officials suspected to be members of RTEAN of assaulting drivers and vandalizing their vehicles.

The group added that the high ticket fee of N7000 per day, per vehicle, being collected from drivers by NURTW and RTEAN, was too exorbitant, which led to the peaceful protest, last week.

Ogunmola also alleged that  motor park boys, also known as agberos, kidnapped some of their drivers and took them to unidentified destinations.

He said: “We want to make it clear to the public and the Lagos State government that the National Union of Road Transport Workers and Road Transport Employer’ Association of Nigeria are not our representatives as none of our drivers is a member of the two unions.

“We pay tickets at every bus-stop and those agberos do not have buses on the road.

‘The harassment of the agberos on the drivers is becoming alarming and worrisome such that the Agberos beat the drivers and bus conductors, coupled with damaging their vehicles.

‘There should be no longer national and state tickets.

“We can no longer pay to NURTW and RTEAN, the high ticket fee of N7000 per day per vehicle as that is too much for us, they should release all our kidnapped drivers.

“They should treat all our injured drivers and compensate them; all vehicles destroyed should be repaired,” he said.