Applauds Judiciary for Landmark Judgement.
The Executive Director, Conscience for Human Rights and Conflict Resolutions CHRCR, Comrade Abdul Idris Miliki has called on Governor Yahaya Bello to as a matter of urgency scrap Kogi state Traffic Management Agency Kotrama to relieve the public from the activities of the officials of the agency.
The Executive Director in a statement made available to Treasure times on Friday in Lokoja commended the judiciary for the judgement declaring the outfit illegal.
According to him a legally constituted agency or institution cannot be seen or allow to be perpetrating illegality.
It will be recalled, that the Kogi House of Assembly on the 5th September 2022, organised a public hearing through its Ad-hoc Committee to probe Alleged Illegal Activities of the Kogi State Transport Management Authority (KOTRAMA) due to complaint of Human Rights Abuses and passive illegal activities.
The question was that and still, is KOTRAMA a revenue agency? as been seen on the streets through its activities or are they law enforcement agency? It must also be noted that the law that established KOTRAMA was passed by Kogi State House of Assembly.
However any Law Passed that is inconsistent with the provision of the constitution, to the extent of its inconsistency cannot stand.
The pronouncement or the ruling of the Kogi State High Court 10 presided by Justice Clement Kekere on the 30th of March, 2023, declared the activities of KOTRAMA illegal as a result of a matter instituted by one Barrister Martin Atojoko.
Outside this, there had always been complaints against the activities of KOTRAMA in Lokoja as a result of their excesses at different times.
It is our opinion that, the Law and activities of KOTRAMA violates the fundamental Human rights of the citizens they are created to protect.
” We wish to appreciate the Judiciary to have come to rescue the citizens from the hands and the illegality of KOTRAMA.
*We call on the Kogi State Government to respect this High Court order on KOTRAMA, as a law abiding and democratic government, who must respect the rule of Law. We equally called on the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, to scrap KOTRAMA and merge it with VIO.
” And if KOTRAMA continues with is Illegal activities as declared by the High Court, its officials and Management should be charged with contempt of Court” He declared
