By Chuks Eke
Anambra State Anti-Touting Squad, SASA has fired a warning shot against those it identified as illegal revenue collectors in the state, saying that they should desist from embarking on illegal revenue collection in the state or be prepared to face the consequences for constituting nuisance in the state.
Director of SASA Operations in the state, Chukwuebuka Onwuemene who sounded the note of warning shortly after the Squad’s show-of-strength along major roads in Onitsha and Idemili Local Government Areas of the state,
said henceforth, the squad would no longer tolerate illegal revenue collectors in all parts of the state, adding that anyone caught should be prepared to face the music.
He however acknowledged the fact that there are govermnent licensed revenue collectors and illegal ones operating simultaneously in various parts of the state, adding that it is left for the agency to distinguish between the legal and illegal ones as time goes on.
On the allegation of favouritism between some revenue collectors in the state, Onwuemene refuted such claims that the agency favors certain illegal revenue collectors in the state.
According to Onwuemene, “accusations of bias against SASA stemmed from a misunderstanding of the agency’s mandate”.
“Our job is to stop the collection of illegal revenue in Anambra State, not to stop all revenue collection,” he clarified.
He explained that some individuals and organizations are officially licensed by the state government to collect levies and operate legally, while other are operating illegally and it is those illegal ones that we are mandated to go after”.
“We are only targeting those collecting illegal revenue. The term is illegal revenue collectors. That doesn’t mean all collections happening on the roads are illegal,” he said.
Onwuemene urged the public to verify whether individuals seen collecting levies are operating legally or illegally before jumping to conclusions.
“We must first determine whether those collecting money on the roads are licensed or not,” he added.
He also dismissed rumors that SASA selectively targets certain groups while allowing others to continue illegal activities, thereby creating confusion, enmity, and resentment.
“If you identify anyone collecting revenue illegally, report it to us. We will take swift action,” he assured.
Addressing concerns about the alleged misuse of force—particularly using Aka Odo (pestles), Onwuemene defended the agency’s actions, insisting that any enforcement measures taken are justified.
“We don’t use Aka Odo (pestles) unlawfully. We don’t arrest people randomly or go to their houses without cause. Most of those who claim to be victims of brutality have questionable records. If their full history of abuse against innocent people were made public, the public would be shocked and horrified,” he claimed.
He described the nature of SASA’s work: “There is no perfect way to serve the public. I see SASA as a strong tree standing in the road side—anyone passing by will try to strike it with a knife. But we are operating strictly within our mandate.”
When asked to assess his own performance, Onwuemene declared: “I don’t think I should be the one to rate myself. The public should judge our performance. But if I must rate it, I would give us over 105 percent. I believe the organization has done excellently well in driving out illegal revenue collectors popularly known as touts in the state”.
