Follow Us on Google
By Olakunle Olafioye
Adisturbing video of a police officer extorting a motorist on Benin highway went viral a few weeks ago.
The extortionist policeman, oblivious of the fact that he was being filmed, was seen demanding N5,000 bribe or five litres of fuel from the motorist for failing to produce a proof of his Electronic Central Motor Registry (ECMR).
The embarrassing scenario, in addition to highlighting the endemic corruption in the Police Force, also for the umpteenth time underscored the plight of motorists who are subjected to endless extortions by men in uniforms on major roads in the country.
In a clear demonstration of its stance against indiscipline and unprofessionalism among its officers and men, the police last week announced that it had identified and summoned the erring officer to the Force headquarters in Abuja for necessary disciplinary action. While the police authorities in the country have always admonished motorists against yielding to such unethical demands from policemen, urging them to report any instances of corruption, cases of operatives of the force extorting and demanding bribes from motorists remain regular occurrences across the country.
In Nigeria, bribery in any form is considered a serious offense with a wide range of laws in place to check this practice. One of these laws is the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act (Cap C31), which established the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC).
The act prohibits giving or receiving anything of value to influence official actions. Other key laws include the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act (CCBTA), which addresses bribery of public officers. The Criminal Code also includes provisions against corruption and unjust enrichment by public officials.
But while there are specified penalties for both bribe takers and givers in Nigeria, motorists who often find themselves at the receiving end of this gross corrupt practice often initiated by security agents said they are nonetheless deterred by whatever punishment awaits them for yielding to the demands of corrupt police officers.
To most of them, it is a case of people who find themselves between the devil and the deep blue sea.
A commercial driver who simply identified himself as Sarafa told Sunday Sun how he spent a whole day at a police station over his refusal to be extorted by policemen in Lagos some few weeks ago.
Sarafa said he was conveying some goods from Ilupeju to Ota area of Ogun State when he was flagged down at a police checkpoint.
“The policeman who stopped me then demanded for my driver’s license and the vehicle particulars which I showed to him. After going through the documents one by one, he gave me a quizzical look, which of course I understood to mean that I was supposed to accompany it with money. Unfortunately, I had no money on me at the time because I had just finished fixing my vehicle before embarking on the trip,” he recalled.
Sarafa said that the policeman would, however, not listen to his explanation.
And after much pleading, Sarafa said, “he demanded for the invoice of the items which was not with me and, of course, which was not necessary for the trip. He, therefore, insisted I should drive to their station where I was held until the owner of the goods arrived later in the day with the invoice.”
Other News
The arrival of the owner of the goods alongside the invoice did little to ameliorate the ordeal of the driver who was already held behind the counter on the suspicion of conveying stolen goods.
“By the time the owner of the goods arrived with the invoice, the policeman who took me to the station had closed for the day, thereby making it difficult for the matter to be resolved until the following day,” he said.
Just like Sarafa, the fear of being delayed unnecessarily often makes many motorists yield to being extorted by policemen without blinking an eye.
Some commercial vehicle operators told Sunday Sun that the majority of the men in uniform on Nigerian roads are only interested in extorting commercial drivers and not necessarily to perform their legitimate duty.
“Once you know why a policeman stops you on the road there is no need to prolong the matter with him, just settle him and go your way. Even when they know that your papers are in order they will still request you grease their palms.
“At such an instance, all you need to do as a driver is to settle and leave if you don’t want to be delayed. So, in order to avoid being delayed, I don’t hesitate to give to them,” a commercial driver who spoke on the condition of anonymity stated.
Commercial drivers also identify impatience on the part of the commuters as another reason security agents prey on them endlessly on Nigerian roads.
A commercial driver who gave his name as Kehinde Ajibewe said he had, on a number of occasions, had to part with some amount of money at checkpoint at the instant of impatient passengers.
“There are times passengers would shout at you to settle with the police because they are in a haste to get to their destinations. In situations like this, you find yourself torn in-between the police and the passengers. Even when you try to explain that the demand by the policeman is unjustifiable probably because you have not done anything wrong or because you have not violated any traffic law, some passengers will still try to prevail on you to give them whatever they want because they are in a hurry to get to their destinations. Whenever this happens the driver is left with no choice, but to settle them and leave,” Ajibewe said.
The fear of roguish and trigger-happy security operatives also ranks high as another major reason some motorists do not think twice before complying with unlawful monetary demands by security agents on the nation’s highways.
Last November, a police officer attached to the Otuocha Area Command in Anambra East Local Government Area, Anambra State, reportedly shot and killed a commercial bus driver.
Reports claimed that the policeman shot the deceased during an altercation over the payment of a N100 bribe to the security operatives at a checkpoint in the area.
The incident which occurred on Saturday, November 2, sources said, caused chaos and panic as some youths in the area mobilised against the police action before the team eventually drove off from the scene.
A good number of those who spoke to Sunday Sun also described the rising incidence of motorists that are being killed by police officers over their refusal to be extorted as the beginning of wisdom for most of them.
“Even if you are not bothered that you are going to be delayed, the fear of some heartless policemen who are ready to shoot at you because you refuse to pay bribe is enough reason some of us just give them whenever they stop us,” another commercial driver said.
“We have heard so many cases of police officers who were apprehended in the past and were reportedly subjected to one form of disciplinary action or another, but at the end of the day such erring police officers would find their ways back into the system.
“The motoring community is aware of the fact that the police have a way of protecting their officers accused of one misconduct or the other, so many of us always feel it is safer to give Caesar what belongs to Caesar and continue with our business,” Ajibewe said.
