Tina Amanda
Commercial vehicle operators and passengers plying the Oyigbo-PortHarcourt-Aba expressway have decried the excessive extortion by Police Officers at every checkpoint on the road.
According to them, over ten checkpoints are mounted on a short distance just to extort money from commercial vehicle operators, without conducting a proper inspection of vehicles plying the route.
Some of the passengers who spoke to our correspondent, Tina Amanda lamented that the transport fare has doubled as a result of the police extortion of drivers.
They stressed that a distance of one hundred naira is now being charged for one hundred and fifty to two hundred naira, as passengers are now the ones that pay police for their extortion.
They complained that Oyigbo-Port Harcourt-Aba expressway has suddenly turned to a business centre for Officers of the Nigerian Police who collect money from Vehicle operators, despite the salary they earn every month from the government.
They further called for the immediate attention of the government in the matter as passengers can no longer pay the expensive bus fare, as surviving in the country is very difficult.
Also, some commercial vehicle operators plying the Oyigbo axis blamed the outrageous extortion of money on drivers by policemen on the failure of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Rivers State chapter to show concern to the plight of drivers operating in the state.
The drivers noted that the NURTW Union is only interested in their selfish gain, not minding what the Union members are passing through.
They stressed that the Union has blatantly refused to address the issue even when the complaint got to their notice.
They lamented that at each Police checkpoint, they are subjected to pay the sum of one hundred naira, sometimes five hundred or even more for a total of over ten checkpoints on Oyigbo-Port Harcourt-Aba expressway during each trip.
They expressed sadness that at the end of every day’s work they have little or nothing to take back home due to the excessive extortion by policemen.
They, however, appealed to the state government, the Inspector General of Police, the State Commissioner of Police and all relevant bodies concerned to look into the matter before it gets out of control.
