Tricycle Riders Protest Police Extortion Aba

ABA-Pandemonium reigned in Aba, Abia state, on Wednesday, as tricycle riders blocked the Aba- Ikot Ekpene road protesting alleged extortion by the Police in the city. The protest which took off from Opobo junction saw some of the riders using their tricycles to block the Ovom street junction and waterside areas.

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A cross section of tricycle riders, including Mbaraonye Madu who spoke to Vanguard lamented that they could no longer ‘bear the burden daily imposed on them by the Police. According to them, “Police extortion is just too much in Aba. If you load from Opobo junction in Ogbor Hill, you will settle five Police checkpoints at Opobo junction, Azuka, Ukaegbu and the two checkpoints at Waterside. Each of them collects N50 whether you are coming or going. We carry four passengers and charged N50. The total money we get in each trip is N200, but the five checkpoints collect N250. So, how do we feed our families and maintain the tricycles since most of us operate on hire purchase agreements?” The situation caused heavy gridlock, leaving commuters stranded while other trekked the distance from Ogbor Hill to the city centre, before boarding buses to their destination.
Contacted, spokesman of the Abia State Police Command, ASP Ogbonnaya Nta, urged tricycle riders to stop offering money to the Police and warned that any Policemen caught collecting bribe would face the full wrath of the law.