*As Dragon 9 team Inspector opens up on why trend goes on full swing without hindrance in Delta.
By Ojigbo Lucky, Daily Watch Abuja man who visited Warri days ago for official function
It’s like the persistent arrest, disgrace and dismissal of several Police officers cutting across the rank and file for diverse misdemeanors particularly extortion of motorist and other Nigerians by the new Inspector General of Police is still not changing the mindset of several police officers as the trend still intensify with enough brazenness in several highways and roads across the Country despite the IG’s Unrivalled effort.
Daily Watch investigations confirmed that extortion of motorists seemed to be the other of the day in almost all the roads in Delta state as the Police Officers in the state now unmindful of the noble efforts of the Inspector General of Police Directive collect and extort Motorists and Keke riders with reckless abandon in almost every road in the state thereby making the state one of the most motorists unfriendly in terms of extortion.
Daily Watch investigations confirmed that right from the entry town of Agbor down to Warri in Delta state coming from Abuja one would find over twelve Police bribe collection points before getting to Warri, a thing that one would hardly encounter from Abuja to Agbor.
The trend is even worse off inside Warri, Sapele and other towns in the state where Police officers out rightly disgrace themselves almost fighting over bribe collections with Keke riders. In Warri running from the Popular Enerhen junction down to Iyara Junction between the hours of 5;30 pm to 10m pm over six collection points is noticed with the first from the Popular B Division Avenue stationed at the popular third Marine Junction, the 2nd stationed just by the Popular Maccdomount Junction with the third at the ever busy Odien Junction and the 4th at the Popular Generator with the fifth at Deco Junction and finally at the popular Iyara Junction where they all do what they knows what to do text extorting money from Keke Riders who ply the routes.
If what is obtainable at Enerhen –Iyara axis is the end it would have been good but going towards Iyara to Avenue also witnessed the same scenario in between the same hours of 5;30 pm to 10Pm after which they all disappeared as if on an agreed and planned shift.
Daily watch findings also unearth the same monumental police extortion siege in almost all intra state routes in Delta state just as they are in the diverse towns. In a less than twenty five minutes journey from the Popular PTI road in Warri to Orerokpe in Ethipe East LGA, there existed about four Police extortion points collecting 100 Naira from each bus driver without which the driver cannot pass through.
Just after the PTI Junction on the immediate entrance to the Long Stretch of the Osubi express are Police men from the Popular Ebrumede Police station whose only duty from morning till night is collection of the compulsory 100 naira, moving from that point further on the same route one would find two sets of Police check points manned by Police men from the Orerokpe Police Post also collecting 100 Naira each after which one meets the most dreaded group with the Dragon (written on their patrol vehicle along the same route who are also deeply and furiously collecting the same hundred Naira.
Daily Watch reporter spoke with the Inspector leading the Dragon 9 team who refused releasing his name and without any visible name tag on his chest and the following conversation ensured after a serious and almost near battle between the Dragon team and several Drivers who were unwilling to part with the 100 Naira payments to the Dragon team 9 before wise counsel triumph.
Daily Watch: Sir am a Reporter from Abuja rushing for some work at Oreorokpe. Are you not too much on this route ,with each collecting 100 naira from these motorist without fear, taking into consideration the steady arrest of several officers for his same act?
Inspector: Abeg Oga reporter ,forward march go where yu dey go oo, those arrested don’t know their way and never pay returns to the boss’s hence the arrest and disgrace, but where here we don’t eat alone s we give returns that runs even o the top in Asaba so no boss would indulge in such wasted effort.
Daily watch: Ha, do you mean the 100 Naira collected here gets up to your bosses’ desk in Asaba?
Inspector: Yes na, as we pay homage to DPO daily, na so DPO dey pay to Area Commander weekly and that one self to Asaba so nobody go dream come do that kind of arrest here o, or have you read or heard of such raid in Delta? We know our way round things here.
Daily Watch: Ok, that’s the confidence, I understand better na Oga.
Inspector: Abeg enter motor dey go your way o, your driver don behave, bye bye oga reporter.
This little discussion with the police inspector leading Dragon 9 on Tuesday around 7;55 pm along PTI- Oreorokpe brought into fore the prevalence with audacity the rate f Police extortion in the state without any form of arrest, supervision or fear on the part of officers involved in this heinous acts against the noble precepts and orders of the amiable and hardworking inspector General of Police who Daily Watch has repeatedly reached out to and confirmed his zero tolerance with his amiable spokes person Mba on multiples occasion.
Daily Watch, that same night place a call to the Delta State Police commissioner Mr. Adeyinka Adeleke around 8 Pm on the reported expose of the Police Inspector leading the Dragon 9 squad at the popular PTI –Oreorokpe axis of Delta state but got more shocked as the Commissioner rather than address the enquiry and question threatened to deal with the reporter whom he described as a mere nobody trying to threaten a whole Police Commissioner with the cheap rant of an inspector.