I saw a video of a woman crying the other day that her car mysteriously disappeared from the spot she packed it. She said she packed her car at a spot, locked the car and left the car to run some errands, before she could come back the vehicle mysteriously disappeared from the spot. The car was properly locked and she had the key to the car, no there is no way it was driven away by another person.
Since it happened in Abuja, immediately after I saw the video I knew what happened to her car because I have witnessed incidents like that countless times. What actually happened was that she packed her car on the roadside and it was towed away by the officers of the Federal Road Safety Corp for illegal packing before she could come back to the car.
Within the Abuja metropolis, the law enforcement agencies like the Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC) or the Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) and sometimes the police are always patrolling around and towing away cars that are packed on the walk lanes or at the roadside obstructing the free flow of traffic. If the car is towed you will have to go to their office to pay a fine and the towing fee before you can get back your car.
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So once you see a car owner crying or complaining that his or her car had disappeared in Abuja just like the woman in the video what passersby do tell the person is to look for a VIO or road safety officer and ask, that there is a possibility that they towed it away and the car did not mysteriously disappear as the owner may think.
People are always advised to park their cars inside parking spaces provided for cars to be parked, if you park on the roadside your vehicle will be towed away. There are public parks scattered around Abuja where motorists are to park. Some charge as low as 100 naira per hour from the vehicle owners, and some it’s free to pack there.
In a most recent development, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has signed an agreement with a team of concessionaires for the commencement of paid on-street parking otherwise known as park and pay policy. By this policy, drivers are required to pay for parking their vehicles in designated areas around the Abuja metropolis. This is expected to commence by next month. If you park in a spot that is not designated for parking you risk your car getting towed away and you will have to pay a fine to recover your vehicle.
Although this park and pay policy is not a new policy, many people are not aware of it. It was earlier in existence in Abuja until it was suspended in 2014 by a pronouncement of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory after a case was instituted by some residents of the FCT challenging the legitimacy of the policy, stating that it was not backed by any law.