Tricycle riders barricade major roads in Maiduguri; Protest alleged extortion by Police
BY ABDULLAHI ISAH, MAIDUGURI
Tricycle Riders Association, (KEKE NAPEP) members operating within Maiduguri metropolis have on Monday barricaded all major roads protesting alleged unlawful collection of money from their members by policemen .
A Keke NAPEP rider, Abubakar Ali said ” policemen have been disturbing us, when they meet us they just take us to police station without any offence and you have to pay N1;000, N1,500.
“We are not making any trouble but we want the government to intervene. Even if you have all your particulars, they will still charge you. We are therefore calling on the Commissioner of Police and Borno state government to do something about the issue,” he added.
Another of the tricycle riders, Idris Ibrahim, said in a day they hardly make N3,500, out of which N500 is for fuel, while N2,500 is for balance (money to be paid to the owner of the bike) but when police collects N1,500 from you , the person will no longer have enough money to pay the NAPEP owner his balance.
He said further, ” we are calling on the state Commissioner of Police to intervene, because this is the only means of livelihood we have”.
Some policemen armed started shooting tear gas into the air, making people to run for their safety.
Reacting to the situation, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, DSP Edet Okon, in a statement said “today being 30/07/18, Tricycle Riders within Maiduguri Metropolis embarked on protest alleging illegal collection of levies by Local Government Authorities and non provision of Motor Parks for their operations.
“They were promptly addressed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, DCP Maiyaki Baba and the State Attorney General/Commissioner of Justice. The situation has been brought under control and no life was lost,” the police spokesman added.
The statement said “the Commissioner of Police Borno State, CP Damian Chukwu hereby urges members of the public to be law abiding and always endeavor to report their grievances to the police or other appropriate government agencies. “.
DSP Okon also urged members of the public to go about their lawful activities without fear as the police will continue to work to ensure their safety.
The situation caused serious traffic jam and difficulties for motorists and other road users for about three hours on Monday.
