The Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, has issued a 72-hour ultimatum to commercial drivers operating in the state with tinted vehicles to remove them within the stipulated time or face the full weight of the law.
The order was made known in a press release from the office of the Chief Press Secretary and Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Oguwike Nwachukwu, and made available to journalists.
Nwachukwu, in the press statement, informed that the governor has directed law enforcement agencies to assist government officials in clamping down on any commercial vehicle driver operating with tinted glasses once the 72-hour deadline elapses.
He stated that the order to clamp down on all tinted vehicles used for commercial activities became necessary following a series of reports concerning the use of such vehicles—mainly buses—to perpetrate criminal activities around the state.
“Consequently, all bus drivers operating in the state with such vehicles have been given 72 hours within which to remove their tinted glasses or face full weight of the law.
“Of late, intelligent reports revealed that most of the commercial vehicles, particularly the commercial buses with tinted glasses, were deployed for criminal activities, such as kidnapping, armed robbery, hit-and-run, among others, within the state,” the press release stated.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor added that security agencies have been advised to collaborate with certain government officials to ensure that the new directive is carried out to the letter in order to check the rise in criminal activities allegedly caused by the use of commercial buses with tinted glasses.
He further informed that defaulters caught after the 72-hour ultimatum will be brought to book to serve as a deterrent to others who may fail to comply with the new order.
