Airport Route: Police Extortion Worries Drivers, Commuters

Motorists plying Port Harcourt-Isiokpo-Elele route, have decried the activities of police officials who mount road blocks on the road, collecting tolls each day.

Speaking to The Tide  a bus driver, Mr. Ajuonuma Oyiri, said “the tolls range between N50 and N100. The police officials, who embark  on the extortion spree, do so every evening at UST round about, Agip round about, Kala Police station front, Rumuokwuta and Rumuodamaya police gate near Obio/Akpor secretariat and ADP gate, while the ones at Rukpokwu/Aluu junction, Airport junction and Omagwa/Ubima junction operate 24 hours of the day. They do this without giving a damn about the terrible traffic congestion that their activities cause along the route”, he added

After collecting toll from each driver, he continued, certain tag numbers are given to them to guarantee their subsequent passage while returning from each trip.

The funny and embarrassing aspect of the police road block along the route, according to him, is that, if a driver does not have N50 or N100 note, the officers would willingly offer to deduct their toll and return the remaining to the driver, saying that any driver who exhibits recalcitrant attitude towards their demands is ordered to park and such driver is not usually allowed access unless he “settles”.

A commuter, Mrs Agnes Jimo, who told The Tide that while this is on going, any passenger that dares to query the rationale for being delayed is shouted down by the officials who usually claim that they are carrying out their official duty and as such must eat, stressing that drivers, who are helpless usually transfer their aggression on the passengers by upping the fare.

She said commuters are lamenting the practice which has become synonymous with men of the police force; they do not consider the man-hour lost on the road due to their nefarious activities, she lamented.

Motorists and passengers are therefore calling on the Inspection-General of Police (IG) and the Rivers State Police Command to call their men to order since they are also dragging the name of the police force in the mud.