Nigerian Police' extortion: when will it stop?

It is a common phenomenon that some bad eggs in the Nigerian Police Force extort money from motorists and passengers on the Nigerian roads. It is difficult to judge when this attitude would stop. Yesterday's was another day of Police' extortion which played out on the highways. Passengers en- route Lagos to Warri on  Libra Motors  were halted by men of the Nigerian Police Force ,some, without name tags. This occured few distance away from Okada in Edo State. 

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The Police Officers  flagged the bus to a halt, and one of them ordered the Driver down to open the door of the vehicle. The Driver did and one of the Officers observed keenly at the passengers and then ordered  two young boys seated at the extreme of the bus down with their bags.

His words: "I said, come down with all your bags, are you not the owners of the these  bags?" Without hesitation, the boys obeyed. The Officer opened the luggage, searched and scattered their clothes. Laying hands on a laptop in one of the bags, the Officer  demanded for the receipt of the laptop. The boy did as the Police Officer ordered by tendering the receipt. When the Police couldn't find any incriminating thing to hold the boy, he ordered the same boy to open his phone, this, the boy  turned down as he told the Police Officer  that he(Police) has no rights to search his(boy) phone.

While the argument lasted, the passengers of the bus were furious as a result of the delay as the boy in question stood on his ground. The Driver too, was furious when, as the normal routine, supposed to have completed his trip as the unnecessary delay by the Police became an obstacle.

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The unfolding drama made  Pebnews Correspondent who was present in scene  speak to one of the elderly passengers. The man said ,a few months  ago,the Commissioner of Police in Edo State, Funsho Adegboye  banned Police Officers  in the state from searching  phones of citizens saying, besides that, the spot of the  operation now was  an evil forest as vehicles were  not supposed  to stop in such a spot and therefore condemned the action of the  Police Officers.

His words: ' What the  Police Officers are doing now is bad, it is an abuse of power".

A female passenger who also spoke,  condemned the action of the Police Officers saying, this  has been a trend on this particular spot that they (Police men)  always stop vehicles, demand to search  phones of passengers, thereafter extort  money from them. 

Many other passengers as well as the Driver of the vehicle who commented on the issue said this action was an act of intimidation from the Police. 

PebNews Correspondent  interrogated one of Officers identified as Okpako Mathew to know if what they were doing at this (the searching of phone)  material  time was constitutional, the Officer frowned and replied: "Are you a law maker?" 

The Driver of the vehicle whose  frustration was written on his face due to the unnecessary delay, pleaded with the Police Officers  to allow the boys be so that they could  continue with their  journey as he was supposed to have completed his trip for the day. He said the action of the Police Officers was what triggered off the EndSars protest some years ago.  At last, the Police Officers allowed  the vehicle go when they have  cajoled the boys to transfer undisclosed amount of money to them while other passengers watched  helplessly.

The journey which supposed to have taken one hour or thereabout, took  several hours as the  passengers were held hostage by power-drunk Police Officers  on the  highways.

By this development, the passengers of the vehicle did not only condemn  the action  of the Police Officers but called  on the Federal Government through the Inspector General of Police to deal decisively with Police Officers who extort money from motorists and passengers on the roads by showing them the way out of  the Police Force as this would  serve as deterrent to others.