Motorists Protest Against Police Extortion In Bariga

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Members of the National Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Oworo unit in Lagos, yesterday staged a protest against what they described as police extortion of drivers operating in Bariga area.

The motorists mentioned a particular police sergeant attached to the Special Anti-Robbery section of Bariga Police Station, who, according to them, always visited them on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to collect N5,000 from them.

They claimed the said sergeant has been collecting the money for over a year now.

One of the protesters, Kehinde Ejima, a member of Oworo unit of the NURTW, alleged that the police officer usually towed their vehicles even when they were loading at the approved location.

Ejima alleged further that the vehicle towed by the sergeant illegally could only be released after a payment of N5,000.

He said the peaceful protest was to put a stop to the extortion of his members by the police officer.

Another protester, a commercial motorcyclist, Olawale Azeez, alleged that the police extortion was not limited to commercial buses alone but also commercial motorcycles, which could only be ‘bailed’ with N1,500 or N2,000 whenever seized.

When P.M.NEWS called at the Bariga Police Station, an officer, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said the protest had been noted and that the officer in question had been banned from going to the motor park, while he is confined to office work for now.

—Paul Sanusi

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