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Police Defy Okiro
October 28, 2008 15:40, 870 views
By Tokunbo Olajide
Police checkpoints were still all over Lagos, yesterday, against the order by the Inspector General, Mike Okiro, that they be dismantled.
A police team on Acme Road, near Ikeja, yesterday, stationed a patrol van where they conducted stop-and-search on some vehicles. Another team near an unmarked bus also stopped commercial motorcycles (okada) on Berger Road, in the Ojodu area.
There is a permanent road block on College Road, Ifako-Ijaiye. Every night, the cops block the 6-lane road and leave only one lane for vehicles to pass, thus causing traffic jam.
The police boss had, at the weekend, instructed that all checkpoints nationwide be dismantled over growing complaints that his men use them to extort money from motorists. The IG asked all state police commissioners to dismantle the illegal checkpoints in their respective commands, as they are tainting the image of the force.
Okiro said he gets over 100 complaints daily about exploits of unscrupulous policemen at checkpoints, warning that any one arrested will be tried, dismissed and prosecuted. In place of the check points, the police boss directed that motorised patrols be used on all the highways to check crime.
The IG also said a special squad would soon be going round the states to arrest erring policemen; and directed commissioners of police to set up their own “x-squad” to check defaulters.
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adeyemi olayiwola
28 October 2008 15:57Is it possible to get those bad eggs off the road? Infact, not only on those locations listed, there is a road beside abatiour in Oko-Oba that links Fagba Junction, the Police in this area even go to the point of seaching motorists pants for money. I have been a victim of these bad eggs before, I was even asked how I get money to buy my car, they said they are going to investigate unless I ’settle’ I was baffled and surprised if am not old enough to own a car at 46yrs. and as a graduate of 1990 when some of them are still roaming about the street. Any Police found mounting road blocks should be seen as an armed robber.
Babs
28 October 2008 16:07Trust Nigeria Police, if Okiro insist in dismantling these checkpoints, Nigerians are in for incensant highway armed robbery and assassination. These Police know how to connect the armed robbers to start their operations again so that the public would earnestly yearning for them to return the checkpoints. What a nation and what a people !! If we must reduce crime wave in Nigeria, Nigeria Police must first be overhauled. Its a pity that the politicians cant do it. These should have been done during the military era. A situation where a condemned armed robbers found his way into police college as a new recruit-in-training and we heard no more about the case till date leaves much to be desired. Nigeria we HATE THEE !!!
John
28 October 2008 16:23There are policemen along LASU-Isheri road every night collecting N50 each from commercial buses
temodent
28 October 2008 16:36I still have a case to make with those, especially at Sabo junction, Ojodu Berger, they stopped me and requested for my particulars after presenting them he said he required the originals which I do not have with, he then seized my church ID (Latter Rain Assembly (Security I.D ) after threathing to remove my number plate or seize my car key which I refused.
I was delayed for more than 2hours with him intern=mittently coming to me asking if I was ready to settle, which I refused he then said I was going to be taken to the station which I did not refuse but after waiting for 2 hours and he did not either release my I.D or move me to the station as he had threatened I had to run away with my car around 10pm since I still had my car key because I dont want to be a victim of accidental discharge having watched one of them shooting sporadically into the air.
The funniest ything in all of this is that the phone number display on their patrol vehicle (they are from area F ) which is 012300251 which I dialled for an upward of 10times rang repeatedly without anybody picking it which is quite baffling.
May God help all of us, as we do not have a people police yet but usurpers.
Thompson G.
28 October 2008 16:54How many time have we heard such rubbish order.
From IG Etim Iyang to IG Balogun Tafa.
The unfortunate thing is that Nigeria Police are not trained to obey the Law of land. How then can they obey Mr. Okiro ’s halla ?
Boogie Taliendo
28 October 2008 16:55Why are Nigerians afraid of being stopped and searched …
ochy
28 October 2008 17:24This is what it should be - Motorized Police Patrol. The main issue is that the Police have so much been involved in collecting tolls on our highways that it will be absolutely difficult to stop them now. It has been stated that they collect over N40m daily or N6b (Six Billion Naira) every month from over 50 roadblocks on PH-Enugu Expressway (see below the summarized detail). It is obvious that if the Police stop this extortion, they will have the boldness to fight against corruption in this country. Reason: It hard and takes extra effort for a thief to catch a thief.
[Let us see the small arithmetic below and then think of what to tell the IGP and President and CIC of this great Country.
1. 200,000 commercial buses/vehicles on one lane paying corruption fee of N20 each translates to N100m a day per lane. That is N200m per pay on Imo River (Boundary between Abia and Rivers States) to Enugu old Tollgate at Agbani every day. The toll has now increased to N50m with the ember months on.
2. In a month the Nigerian Police at the roadblocks and stopover stations collect N6b, and it is tucked into some Peoples’ Police pockets with ‘Integrity’. Compare this with some State monthly allocations from the Federal government.
3. The same number of buses paying a recordable Highway fee of N100 (to the Federal Highway Police) each translates to N40m daily or N1.2b every month.
This is just on one expressway. From Owerri to Onitsha is worse. There is this disturbing aspect too. Between Obigbo junction and this Imo River, there are 3 Roadblocks on each side of the road. They collect N24m per day or N720m every month.
It follows therefore that from PH to Enugu, the Nigeria Police on patrol collect besides their monthly salaries over N6b from the unprotected Nigerians using these commercial vehicles as the incidence of these corruption rates is borne by them].
Ojo
28 October 2008 17:33If IG can succeed in Lagos, he shd be crowned the man of the year. Let him use helicopter to patrol the city as from 5.30pm in the evening to see the atrocity committed by his boys are committing within Lagos every night,
Ojo
28 October 2008 17:36If IG can succeed in Lagos, he shd be crowned the man of the year. Let him use helicopter to patrol the city as from 5.30pm in the evening to see the atrocity his boys are committing within Lagos every night.
Wonder
28 October 2008 19:02Na lie, Okiro is not sincere with this course. There are several checkpoints in Lagos. Are there no senior police officers in Lagos who oversee these police officers. Are they feign ignorance that police checkpoint is illegal. The most annoying part is that it is either they are drunk or smoke igbo before going to these checkpoints. Some of them caanot even read vehicle documents very well.
Some of them will be audacious to ask you to drop something. They give number or codes to conductors for each trip so that once u pay for a trip when u are coming back u just tell them the code for the day. It is that bad.
Okiro should stop deceiving Nigerians and come up with a more security measures across the country
Olawale
28 October 2008 20:44It is all lies. If Police Check (Cash) points are dismantled, how are the police men going to meet the revenue targets for their DPOs? We all know that the junior police officers mounting road blocks are doing so with full knowledge and approval of their senior officers who receives ‘returns’ every day from the junior officers. Okiro’s shouting and posturing will not change anything Let he who is without sin cast the frst stone’. Okiro must have been collecting ‘returns’ when he was a DPO and has no moral authority to prosecute any police officer for doing same.
OGBENI N AIJA
28 October 2008 22:00THIS OKIRO SELF IT SEEMS YOU ARE WORST THAN TAFA BALOGUN,WITH ALL YOUR BUSINNESS COGLOMATES HEADED BY YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS YOU STILL DONT WANT THE POOR POLICE MEN SURVIVE.NA WAA FOR YOU OOH
tituswale brooklyn u s a
29 October 2008 05:55is propaganda checkpoints can never be stop because police generate there revenue from there ride on nigeria police .
Sunny
29 October 2008 10:50It is a shame that the I.G will choose to take all Nigerians for a ride. Who is he deceiving by his order? Is the I.G unaware of the atrocities by his men on the Benin Ore road?. What action will he take if some one publishes these atrocities on camera? Journalists take action, bring these atrocities on camera, publish photographs, a good mobile phone hand set with camera can do wonders in this direction. Lets prove to the I.G, what the reality is.
babatope aina
29 October 2008 15:36I BEG MAKE UNAH COME TO APPLE JUNCTION AT FESTAC LINK ROAD AMUWO-ODOFIN. WONDERS ARE HAPPENING THERE EVERYDAY AS POLICE JEEP WILL BE USED TO MOUNT ROAD BLOCK..MILE 2 UNDER THE BRIDGE IS ANOTHER TERRIBLE POINT.
bittertruth
29 October 2008 15:40This is one of the cathologues of joke from the police. This has been on for several years, the boss will publicly denounce road checking points while police team or officer without return of daily proceeds will be in trouble. Lets ask Okiro how much millions of Naira that reach his hand everyday and if he is truly ready to let go of such money. If he would not provide answer, then he is one of the hypocrates Jesu mentioned in the Bible whom he also condemned by saying woe unto them.
bamidele samson
29 October 2008 15:43Oga Okiro , the Ikotun police are the most terrible of them all.I wish you come to cele bus stop before getting to IKOTUN-EGBE in ALIMOSHO LOCAL GOVT.of Lagos state around 8.30 PM in the night, you will see the atrocity that your men are committing.We are fed up ,please remove them because they are disgracing the force.
Ayiyi Daniel
29 October 2008 15:52Stoping checkpoints is not the issue. The welfare and salaries of the police should be improved and paid on time. Setting up ‘x-squad’ or ‘P-SQUARE’ is not the issue. The ants that eats the beans is inside the beans. The problem of the police force is within the force itself.