The menace of Abuja’s task force bullies

They were supposed to be revenue collectors, tax men tasked with funding the operations of our federal capital territory.

But the officers of the Abuja task force have morphed into something more sinister – roving gangs of bullies shaking down everyday citizens in pursuit of their quotas.

To call them a nuisance is an understatement. These men have become a clear and present danger to the peace and wellbeing of our city.

I recall that the wanton harassment and disregard for human dignity by SARS officers triggered the #EndSARS protests that roiled the nation just a few years ago.

Now, the task force is following in SARS’ ignoble footsteps, taking their abuse of power to potentially explosive new heights.

What is it about a barely educated Nigerian man being handed even a modicum of authority that so quickly corrupts him? Give him a sash, a taser, and the backing of bureaucracy and he swiftly becomes drunk on his own inflated self-importance. Decency, restraint, and common sense are the first things jettisoned in pursuit of shaking down the most vulnerable among us.

Just last week, a full-blown crisis erupted in Wuse market when task force goons arrested a simple trader. He was shot by Correctional officers when he was trying to escape.

Such scenes have become all too common on our streets. You see these men moving around, accosting women selling maize or oranges by the roadside.

What choice are these poor souls left with after their meager wares are seized without justification? Must they resort to more desperate, criminal measures to feed their families?

Most lack the funds to rent a proper shop and ply their trade out of the harassment line.

The most offenders among the task force are those who lurk on roads and traffic circles, waiting to pounce on unsuspecting motorists with spurious charges and fines. I’ve heard absurd tales of people being accused of lacking “radio licenses” and other make-believe infractions.

One man told of being molested because he had the audacity to transport goods in his personal vehicle. Since when is that illegal?

The task force’s authoritarian overreach knows no bounds when it comes to squeezing every last Naira from the populace through intimidation.

Let me be clear – I have no problem with Abuja’s government raising revenues through proper taxation and fees. The issue is the dehumanizing, traumatizing methods being employed by these ill-trained conscripts.

There are always more civilized means of collecting monies owed that don’t leave citizens questioning their safety and sanity.

The now-defunct Abuja park and pay system could have worked beautifully, ensuring car owners that their vehicles were secure while generating funds for the city. But the scheme was sabotaged from the outset by the greed of its enforcers. They saw it not as a civic service, but as a cleaver to extort the public via strong-arm tactics. The entire system became a glorified extortion racket.

We are at an inflection point, Abuja. If these task force gangs are not reined in, made to answer for their litany of abuses, and replaced with a professional, disciplined force, we risk sliding into chaos and unrest.

The menace on our streets is quickly becoming intolerable. Will FCT’s leadership have the courage to chance course, admit its failures, and take meaningful steps to reform the system? Or will authoritarian impunity be allowed to fester, with more innocent citizens being preyed upon by these marauding tax collectors? The path we take will speak volumes about the soul of our society.

I, for one, have had enough of watching my friends, neighbors, and fellow Abuja residents being dehumanized and brutalized by those promised to serve and protect us. This insanity must cease before it’s too late.

A reckoning is coming for Abuja’s task force bullies, one way or another. The choice of how it arrives is up to those we’ve entrusted to maintain order through justice, not justifications.