The protest paralysed activities of Uber and Bolt in the nation's capital
Dozens of Uber and Bolt drivers on Tuesday in Abuja staged a peaceful protest against their service providers over the death of their colleagues while on duty.
The protesting drivers blamed the ride-sharing companies for the death of their colleagues and called for proper profiling of their riders to guarantee their (drivers’) safety in the course of their duty. They said the current customer profiling method used by Uber and Bolt endanger their lives.
The protest paralysed activities of Uber and Bolt in the nation's capital as the angry drivers withdrew their vehicles from the road to join the rally.
The Deputy Coordinator Administration National Coalition of Ride Sharing Partners (NARCORP), Fred Aleburu called on government authorities to come to their aid by invoking relevant laws to regulate the activities and operations of the ride-hailing companies.
He also demanded justice for the families of their colleagues who lost their lives as result of negligence and inaction of the companies to profile riders.
He wondered why service providers are only interested in profiling their drivers and reluctant to request for the valid means of identification of their customers.
Aleburu said, "We are mourning our colleagues who were killed by Bolt and Uber. They were killed because Uber and Bolt have not profiled their riders. They endangered the lives of drivers and our members have been dying and that is why I said they were killed by Bolt and Uber.
"We are crying to the world that they should help us tell Bolt and Uber to profile their customers for our safety.
"They should request for their valid identity card like international passport, National Identification Number (NIN), driver’s license and voter card. They should have it in their data base so that anytime a crime is committed, you will know who perpetrated the act.
"If anybody wants to download the Bolt or Uber app, you just need to enter either your driver’s license details or any other legal or valid means of identification so that if anything untoward happens, you can be traced."
He said all drivers’ associations operating under any ride-hailing company across the country were part of the ongoing three-day warning strike embarked upon by the coalition.
He added that they would submit a letter to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige to formally apply for registration of the coalition.
Many residents in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were stranded as a result of the strike action.