EDITORIAL: The Broad-Daylight Robbery at Star Sunny Upper Iweka Park Must Be Checked

By Tony Okafor

Upper Iweka in Onitsha has for decades been a major commercial and transportation hub for Anambra State and the South-East. Thousands of commuters, traders and travellers pass through the area daily.

Unfortunately, the area has also become notorious as a hunting ground for pickpockets, touts, swindlers and other criminal elements who prey on unsuspecting members of the public.

For years, passengers have reported having their phones and bags stolen, while visitors have fallen victim to various forms of trickery and fraud.
A disturbing pattern of alleged fraud at Star Sunny Park now requires urgent attention from the Anambra State Government, security agencies and transport regulators.

The allegation is simple but disturbing: a person poses as an authorised park agent, collects fares from passengers boarding a vehicle and then disappears.

The passengers are later told that the person who collected their money was unauthorised and are forced to pay again before continuing their journey.

This does not appear to be an isolated incident. Reports suggest that it has happened repeatedly, raising serious questions about supervision and security within the park. How does an unauthorised person enter the park, identify a loading vehicle, collect fares from several passengers and vanish without detection? Why do passengers repeatedly fall victim to the same scheme in the same environment?

These are questions that demand answers.

More troubling are allegations that such fraud could hardly persist without some form of insider knowledge or collaboration. Some park workers have been accused of complicity. If criminals are impersonating park officials, the management has a duty to stop them.
If any workers are found to be collaborating with fraudsters, they should be identified, dismissed and handed over to law enforcement agencies for prosecution.

A motor park must not be a place where passengers cannot distinguish legitimate workers from criminals.
To restore order, fares should be paid only at designated ticketing points, with official receipts issued before boarding. Loading bays and payment areas should be covered by CCTV cameras, while security personnel should maintain a visible presence. Conspicuous notices should warn passengers to pay only through authorised channels.

Management should also establish a functional complaints desk and a rapid-response mechanism for victims of fraud, theft or extortion.

The government must also address the wider security situation at Upper Iweka. The area is too important to the state’s economy and image to be surrendered to pickpockets, swindlers, touts and organised criminal networks.

Governor Chukwuma Soludo should take a cue from Umuahia, where improved organisation under Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, has made the motor park system more orderly and commuter-friendly.

The experience in Umuahia demonstrates that transport hubs do not have to be synonymous with chaos, touting and criminality. Onitsha deserves no less.

Governor Soludo’s vision of a liveable and prosperous Anambra cannot be fully realised if major gateways to the state remain associated with fear, disorder and criminality. A modern city is judged not only by its roads and buildings but also by the safety and dignity with which people move through its public spaces.

The alleged fare-collection fraud at Star Sunny Park must be thoroughly investigated. The park management should explain what measures it has put in place to protect passengers, while security agencies should investigate the repeated complaints and determine whether an organised syndicate is operating within or around the park.

Upper Iweka must not remain a playground for criminals.

Star Sunny Park, like every motor park in Anambra State, must be a place where passengers can board a vehicle, pay a legitimate fare and travel without being swindled in broad daylight.

This alleged broad-daylight robbery must be checked — and checked now.