Drivers plying the East-West Road enroute Bayelsa State have cried out over what they described as extortion by the police mounting the 18 check points between Choba Bridge and Igbogene in Bayelsa State.
The drivers bared their minds when they spoke in an exclusive chat with The Tide at the weekend in Port Harcourt.
One of the drivers, who gave his name as Mr Kayode, said the situation had now become unbearable, as they could no longer afford N1.800 every day to satisfy each check point with N100.
Kayode said that the act, would live an average driver spending about N54,000 to police on monthly basis.
According to him, such development was enough to eject anyone out of business, especially this time of dwindling economy.
Another driver, who did not give his name, said that steps must be taken by the appropriate authorities to check on the police at the East-West, if they want motorists to remain in business.
He expressed regrets that the police have abandoned their primary assignment and concentrated on making profits from the drivers’ proceeds.
The driver, also described as unfortunate, the inability of their parent body, the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NUTRW), to come to their aid.
They further described as notorious, the police at Ogbakiri junction and Christ Apostolic Church ( CAC), junction, as they do theirs with impunity.
