Motorists accuse police of using gangs for extortion
By Zuleihat Owuiye, Mamos Nigeria
Motorists have accused some police officers of conspiring with hoodlums to commit extortion in Berger and Oshodi areas of Lagos State.
During a visit to Oshodi and Berger on Monday, Punch Metro observed gangsters demanding N300 from professional drivers for the police.
In separate interviews with Punch Metro, some professional drivers claimed that not paying gangsters a daily wage would make it difficult for police to pick up passengers inside the park.
The driver, who identified himself as Tolulope, claimed that the amount commercial drivers hand over to police officers in the park is determined by the size of the car.
He said: They collect the salary, but I have to worry about the salary every day, but my life is still very unpleasant. You will pay N300 for charging here. You pay almost 500 naira or more in a day.
“It depends on the type of bus you drive. I also drive a shuttle bus myself, so the amount you pay may be different from the amount you pay for a major bus. They don’t want people to see them collecting money for uniforms, so they keep sending these people to collect money from us,” he concluded.
Another professional driver, Rufai, claimed that the police officer extorted him N700 per day, adding that if he did not pay he would be forced to stop work for the day.
Rufai said: “They have agents who collect money from us every day. They have agents in the military, police and LASTMA. They call her ‘Aja dog’. For the police, you pay 300 Naira in the morning to load from Obalende and 400 Naira in the evening, for a total of 700 Naira per day.
“This is one of the main reasons why we decided to increase transport costs. In addition to the fact that fuel prices have increased, we have to move all these vehicles onto the road, and in some cases the endurance “
“I am sure that if we choose not to give them, they will make our lives unbearable. Even if we want to transport passengers at a particular stop, they do not allow it and instead constantly hit the bus with rods. But if we pay them a daily fee, they allow us to take passengers wherever we want.
Bus conductor Ibrahim Ahmed said: This is what they’ve been doing ever since. They call it “Owo Oropa” which means money for police officers. They don’t want people to see them taking money from us along the way. they do it every day. Please help the government remove these people from the streets because they are eating up our daily income and it is unfair. ” he concluded.
When State Police Public Information Officer Benjamin Hundein’s phone rang, all attempts to find out his reaction proved futile.
