Sheer extortion: Solomon Arase’s men back on the roads

– Checkpoints were created to among other factors allow the policemen  to detect and arrest car thieves in some locations when vehicles are stolen

– Some men of the Nigerian Police are back on the road extorting motorists and motorcyclists, this is rampant on highways across the federation

– An anonymous officer said the IG will soon call all the Commissioners to Abuja to evaluate the implementation and monitoring of his order that all checkpoints in the country be dismantled

Police roadblocks are increasingly seen across the country, particularly in crisis areas. There, security agents in black or blue uniforms openly extort already economically overwhelmed Nigerians.

The question now on the lips of many citizens is what has happened to the order by Solomon Arase, the inspector general of police (IGP) banning roadblocks.

Arase in February this year expressly warned commissioners of police in the 36 states of the federation and Abuja to immediately stop mounting road checkpoints, urging them to intensify efforts to arrest officers mounting them.

Although, he had noted that road checkpoints ‘are unavoidable’ in some cases because policemen could mount them to detect and arrest car thieves in some locations when vehicles are stolen, but the trend is near its former traditional status of ‘operation fire for money’ in major roads across the country.

Investigation by NAIJ.com in Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Rivers, Lagos and Osun States respectively, and eyewitness accounts in other parts of the country, can report that some men of the Nigerian Police are back on the road extorting motorists and motorcyclists.

While officials who engage in the illegality in Bayelsa, Delta and Edo States employ the tactics of gentle appeal to emotions of road users to get what they want, their counterparts in Rivers State are more brutal in asking for their ‘tithes’, a word they coined to extort helpless Nigerians.

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For instance, all inter-state commercial bus operators (with the exception of popular brands like Edegbe Motors, God is Good, Agofure…) stops at all checkpoints throughout East-West Road to ‘pay tithes” to policemen who do not hide the fact that their primary interest is not to request and see vehicle particulars.

A fact check in Lagos further revealed spots where police extortion takes place on a regular basis and method employ sometimes to conceal the illegality, thereby appearing decent and patriotic in the eyes of the public.

The Oko-Oke Police Post in Alimosho Local Government for instance, has officers under its command mounting checkpoints on strategic locations along Ota-Agbalekale-Ekoro road where they extort money from road users. Similarly, their counterpart at Meiran Police Post extorts motorists and motorcyclists at strategic locations along Command-Ipaja road.

It was also discovered that some officers serving under Mosalasi, near Okowonjo, and Idimu Police Stations respectively also mount checkpoints late evenings on Iyana-Ipaja-Ikotun road to extort primarily commercial bus operators.

But further investigation revealed that policemen involved in the act in Pako bus top along Ejigbo-Isolo road and their counterpart in Ajah, engage the services of area boys (popularly refer to in Lagos as ‘Agbero’) to extort commercial bus operators on their behalves.

It was reliably gathered that monies collected from commercial bus operators between 3pm and 4pm on the Ejigbo-Isolo axis are for policemen who do the supervision through their colleagues in yellow uniform, traffic officers.

Under this arrangement, area boys chosen to collect money from commercial bus drivers are monitored by the policemen throughout the duration.

Sources in Ajah Motor Park who are part of those collecting money for the police told NAIJ.com that officers on the axis don’t supervise money collected on their behalves because agreed amount is daily taken to the Ajah Police Station and that certain hours are dedicated for the collection.

Commercial bus operators on this axis also confirmed to NAIJ.com that although, certain hours dedicated for collection of police’s money are not regular but it is, however, a compulsory daily payments.

Another fierce route is Ekiti en-route Osun where policemen on checkpoints are even fiercer as they brazenly extort road users who have no other choice than give in; having waste precious time auguring back and forth over the genuineness of vehicle particulars presented, according  to eyewitness accounts.

A NAIJ.com‘s reporter who recently travelled the route said despite the close proximity of the checkpoints along the route, policemen on these checkpoints insists on motorists parting with appreciable amount of money or their time wasted for relying on validity of vehicle particulars as means of avoiding extortion.

“All Nigerians who travel by roads sees this open extortion. It is not a secret. If you don’t have change they are already to give you change. Once you are stopped at these checkpoints it doesn’t matter whether you have valid vehicle particulars or not. If you insist you will not give them anything they will waste your time. They will always find one that is wrong with your particulars, unless they don’t mean you. very annoying,” she told NAIJ.com.

She explain that having been held for more than 30 minutes over the authenticity of her Prove of Ownership document, she had to part with N500 at a checkpoint after the policemen rejected the N200 she was willing to part with it.

Operators of tricycle (popularly refer to in Nigeria as Keke Napep) and commercial motorcyclists are also not spared by policemen who mount evening checkpoints on states and local government roads like the Ahoada-Omoku-Ndoni road d to extort these categories of Nigerians.

Some Lagos residents also complained that the Traffic Division of the Nigerian Police have ‘redefined’ traffic lights rules in order to illegally indict motorists for possible extortion.

One Lagos resident said the redefinition of the traffic lights rules was one of the new methods being employed by men in yellow to extort motorists since the current IG stopped illegal road blocks in the country.

Itua Ebhonaye, a Lagos motorist with office in Ikeja, explained that many motorists in Lagos metropolis had suffered diverse degrees of humiliation in the hands of some notorious traffic officials (especially officers in yellow uniform).

“What we know is that: the red light means “STOP”, the yellow light means “GET READY TO STOP” and while the green light means “GO”. What some of these traffic official do these days is to smartly arrest last motorists on yellow light who had far cross the line before the red light (STOP) appears. I have been victim in the past. It will never happen to me again. Once bitten twice shy. I have told myself any day traffic official (whether LASTMA or Yellow Police) gets in the front of my car again under such circumstance they will regret it” he vowed.

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Chinedu Akabueze, another motorist who laments the trend, blamed it on high-level illiteracy on the part of traffic officials, saying that larger percent of them cannot read and write appreciably as expected from officials dealing with the public.

“What do you expect from traffic officials who do not really understand the meanings of these traffic lights indicators? The Police Authority should ensure training and retraining of these traffic officials in order to spare law abiding Nigerians this embarrassment,” he said.

But Deola Aliratu, another motorist who identified traffic officials in Maryland traffic junction (by Independence Tunnel) as some of the officials perpetuating the illegality disagrees with Akabuaze’s position that high level illiteracy was responsible for the development. According to her, corruption tendency is what lure officers to go the extra mile by arresting motorists who have not violate traffic rules in order to extort.

“Does one need a PhD to understand simple traffic light indicators”? If you want to verify what I am telling you go to Maryland and stay like 30 minutes to 1 hour; you would sure see for yourself. Until the red light appears you are not to stop. That is the standard everywhere. You know sometimes you just want to stop because you feel the red light would soon on. They may even start arresting people in stoppages like that. They may ask you why did you stopped when the yellow light was still on. These guys are desperate,” she said.

She said further that she had witnessed many times when innocent motorists were arrested by traffic officials for alleged offences they never committed and consequently extorted.

“They know what they are doing is illegal. Usually, what they do once you are in their net under such circumstance, two or three of the traffic officials (especially the ladies) would quickly jump into your car and direct you out of the viewing eyes of those who might be seeing the illegality. Sometime they will insist on taking the wheel from you. The situation is worst when you are driving alone. There you will be extorted without mercy,” she alleged.

Olabisi Kolawole, Nigerian Police Force spokesperson was not available for comments as her phone number indicates she was out of coverage when attempts were made at reaching her. Her reply to text message sent to her was still being expected at the time of filing in this report.

But a senior officer in the police who did not want his name mentioned because he is not authorize to speak to the press, told NAIJ.com that the IG will soon call all the Commissioners to Abuja to evaluate the implementation and monitoring of his order that all checkpoints in the country be dismantled.

He said some of the checkpoints seen in some parts of the country, particularly on federal roads are still there due to intelligence reports, and asks that Nigerians be ready to assist in the efforts by reporting their experience to the authority.

“Yes the IG ordered that checkpoints be dismantled early this year except where it becomes imperative; but the IG can’t be everywhere at the same time. I can assure the IG is doing the best he can to improve police-public relation,” he said.

He also debunked the insinuations in some quarters that lack of training was responsible for the unprofessional conducts amongst traffic officials, and explained that the Motor Traffic Division of the Police is as old as the Police as an institution.

“The personnel who work in the traffic department not just have general training as Police Officers; they also have additional training in the Police Traffic School. The personnel are exclusively trained in traffic management and control.

“Let’s stop this culture of always throwing everything at the Police. They are properly and adequately trained. Traffic officials are not supposed to be in a place where there is traffic light but for the negative traffic attitude of most motorists.

“Most of the offenses committed in this country are committed by the elites. The fact that they are Bankers, Lawyers, Politicians and Journalists doesn’t stop them from breaking traffic rules. If we remove traffic officials from traffic scene, within five minutes the place will turn to a riot scene. Everybody wants to go at the same time.  We should locate where the problems are. The problem lies in all us,” he said.

When asked if some bad elements within the force could be responsible for the issues raised, he said the Police had never claimed to be a community of saints.

“It’s your own profession that claims sainthood. Even the Vatican City is not a community of saints. However, we are committed to doing the right thing. We are the only profession investigating and prosecuting our own. We are operating in a society. We should ask ourselves where can we collectively work and put our nation on the part of greatness,” he said.

Debo Adeniran, chairman, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL), told NAIJ.com in an interview that it is sad checkpoints for extorting purposes have returned to Nigerian roads and the menace is corruption every Nigerian must join hands to fight by questioning policemen who mount them and reporting them to anti corruption crusaders.

He said: “There is one checkpoint very close to the place I live where they extort money from motorists. I challenged them the other day because the IG told Nigerians all roadblocks have been dismantled. Nigerians must also learn to report these bad elements within the Police to the appropriate authorities.

He noted that the IG can only give order but that it is the duty of Commissioners of Police to ensure illegal checkpoints are not erected on Nigerian roads and policemen going against order from above fished out and prosecuted accordingly to serve as deterrent to others.

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