National Committee Against Touting, NCAT, has berated soldiers and policemen at check points on highways in South-East and South-South parts of Nigeria over what it described as “extortion, criminal intimidation and bullying” of motorists by the security operatives.
Consequently, NCAT has urged the Chief of Army Staff and the newly appointed Acting Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba as well as governors of the zones to wade into the matter with a view to bringing the ugly trend to an end.
Chairman of the committee, Dr Ike Anikwendu in a press statement issued yesterday in Abuja, explained that the most affected areas were the Abia Tower in Umuahia, Abia State, Itodo junction in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Isele Asaba, the Mbiama/Patani Road in Warri Delta State and the Benin bypass/toll gate in Edo State.
While accusing highway soldiers and policemen of coercing road users to give them bribes ranging from N2, 000 to N5, 000, Anikwendu stated that “these officers engage in the act of touting, extortion, criminal intimidation, bullying and frog-jumping of the nation’s investors, truck owners, drivers and innocent commuters as if there is no law in Nigeria for failure to part with their hard earned money”.
He appealed to the federal government to release sufficient funds for the anti- touting squad to continue to wage war against all forms of touting in the country.