BUS DRIVERS BLOCK ENUGU-ABAKALIKI HIGHWAY, ALLEGE POLICE EXTORTION

Reporter : AMECHI ODO

Commercial bus drivers Friday morning blocked the boundary axis of Enugu-Abakaliki Expressway to protest alleged extortion of money and intimidation by police operatives from Enugu State Police Command at a check point in the area.

The development frustrated the movement of many commuters travelling from Abakaliki to Enugu as the protesting drivers insisted that the Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State must visit the scene before they could leave the road.

In a telephone conversation, one of the drivers, who gave his name as Chukwuma, alleged that the policemen not only extort them but manhandle any driver who refused to comply.

A commuter, who was affected by the road block, Mr. Kingsley Igwe, explained that he had been stranded on the traffic for over one hour as the drivers resisted every plea to allow vehicles from Ebonyi State to pass.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in Ebonyi State, Mrs. Loveth Odah, said the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Philip Maku, would contact his counterpart in Enugu State to see how to resolve the matter and clear the road.