Two weeks after the Delta State Commissioner of Police (CP), Zanna Ibrahim Mohammed promised to look into the alleged criminal acts of some of his officers in the state, personnel of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) in the state have continued to steal from road users without conscience.
Police officers who controls traffic at Ibusa junction, popularly known as Igbuzor junction area of Asaba, along Nnebisi Road, the newly constructed Cable-point roundabout, Delta Broadcasting Service (DBS) junction/High Court junctions, after the Police Headquarters, along Okpanam road and the Post Office jjunction also at Okpanam road have turned their official duties to conduit pipes which they use to forcefully collect monies from transporters.
Those predominantly extorted at the Igbuzor junction are tricycle riders, Asaba/Onitsha transporters and those loading from Asaba to Ibusa/Ogwashi-Uku while at the DBS/High Court junctions, tricycle riders but private vehicles are not spared.
At the Igbuzor Junction where heavy duty vehicles known as 911 or tippers carries sharp sand, the police uses the heavy duty vehicles to barricade the road to collect monies from unsuspected drivers while they cause traffic making it impossible for vehicular movement.
The police in their criminal acts accords codes to drivers whom they have collected monies from as a way of apprehending their prey whom they are yet to extort, when a driver is unable to decode the police code, they are tracked down to make their payments, “that is outrageous”, the CP exclaimed.
Also involved in this unabated act, are the Delta State Traffic Management Agency (DESTMA) personnel whom the Senator Ifeanyi Okowa-led government recruited after sacking 3000 newly recruited civil servants by the immediate past government of Governor Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, to compensate those who rigged election for him at the 25 local government areas of the state at the last governorship election.
On their part, if a driver was unable to provide his vehicle documents, he/she is held to a standstill until they throws some naira notes at them before they are allowed to carry on.
However, in his reaction, the CP said such acts has not come to his notice as he assumed office a while ago but promised to investigate the allegation levelled against his officers, “actually the whole country is experiencing what they call the change mantra and the number one priority on the list of Mr. President is corruption. So, anybody who engages in corruption I think is confronting the authority. We are not going to take it kindly with such unscrupulous policemen and I assure you that it is going to be a thing of the past”, Zanna assured.
