Truck Drivers Bemoan Police Extortion At Rivers Borders 

Truck drivers plying different routes into Rivers State have expressed dismay over the alleged high level of extortion by policemen.
The aggrieved drivers alleged that policemen deployed to secure different borders linking the state were collecting between N2,000 and N5,000 from them before they could gain access to the state with their wares.
They noted that the alleged extortion made it difficult for trucks conveying foodstuffs and other food items to enter the state on time.
Condemning the alleged extortion, a truck driver, Abubakar Adamu, told our correspondent that the act delayed drivers on the road up to six to seven days before accessing the city.
He attributed the high cost of food items in Port Harcourt to police extortion on the road, saying owners of those foodstuffs were forced to shift the cost to the end users.
“Most of the policemen at the Port Harcourt-Aba borders are wicked, they collect N2,000, N3,000 and sometimes N5,000 from us before they allow us to enter Port Harcourt with our goods”, he said.
Adamu noted that the alleged extortion by the police had forced some of the truck drivers coming to Rivers State to divert to other neighbouring states.
He appealed to the Inspector-General of Police and the Rivers State Police Commissioner to set up a task force to check the excesses of their men at the various borders.

By: Chinedu Wosu