A mob attack by some angry youths on Wednesday left three members of the staff of the Kano State Road Traffic Agency, popularly known as KAROTA, hospitalized.
The Public Relations Officer of the agency, Abubakar Ibrahim Sharada, confirmed the incident in a statement, a copy of which was made available to the press on Thursday.
According to the statement, the mob attack occurred when a Sharon commercial bus was hit by a trailer at Kwanar Dawaki town along Zaria Road.
“The 2IC of the KAROTA patrol team along Zaria Road, Ibrahim Abubakar Ibrahim, said the Sharon commercial bus was stopped by the team for a routine check when suddenly the truck driver, who was speeding, rammed into the passenger bus, causing it to somersault several times. As a result, many passengers sustained serious injuries.
“When they saw how some of the passengers were injured, the group (youths) launched an attack on the KAROTA personnel, inflicting serious injuries on them,” the statement said.
According to the statement, the truck driver who caused the accident fled as the focus was on rescuing the commercial bus passengers and the injured KAROTA workers.
The Managing Director of KAROTA, Faisal Mahmud Kabir, urged the people to respect and help uniformed officials on duty in maintaining law and order on the highways.
He stated that such police should not be viewed as enemies of society, but rather as government agents working to maintain sanity in traffic control.
The managing director also praised KAROTA employees for their dedication and commitment to carrying out their responsibilities effectively.
Motorists on important routes in Kano have expressed concerns on multiple occasions about how KAROTA operatives set up roadblocks, with some suggesting that the agency has also taken over sections of federal highways connecting Kano to neighboring states.
KAROTA officers, who wear yellow uniforms, are frequently observed setting up roadblocks, and some were accused of extorting motorists, particularly commercial truck drivers.
