Bus drivers accuse police, KAROTA of extortion
Commercial bus drivers and tricycle operators in Kano metropolis have accused policemen and officials of Kano State Road Traffic Agency (KAROTA) of extortion at various junctions across the city. The drivers alleged that the operatives of the two agencies have turned many junctions around the city into booby traps to extort money from them for […]
Commercial bus drivers and tricycle operators in Kano metropolis have accused policemen and officials of Kano State Road Traffic Agency (KAROTA) of extortion at various junctions across the city.
The drivers alleged that the operatives of the two agencies have turned many junctions around the city into booby traps to extort money from them for unjustifiable reasons.
Some of the drivers and tricycle operators who spoke to Kano Chronicle claimed that they are being charged heavily by the operatives even without committing any traffic offence.
One of the affected drivers, Suleman Alhaji Audu Dawakin Kudu said, ‘’Any sensible driver must always take note of other road users at traffic junctions and ensure that he obeys the traffic rules by stopping when the traffic light shows red and go when it permits him to proceed.
“Our concern is that sometimes even when we are faithful to these rules the personnel of two agencies will still stop us alleging that we commit an offence and therefore we have to pay some amount of money as fine. We are not ignorant of the existence of mobile court for traffic offenders, but the KAROTA agents and the police have collaborated and assumed that responsibility of prosecuting the road users unjustly.
‘’I am not saying that some of the road users do not violate the traffic rules, but if you observe very well, you will notice that out of 10 alleged offenders, only three or four really commit the offences they were accused of. It is obvious that some of them have turned the traffic junctions to booby traps for extortion,” Dawakin Kudu said.
Another bus driver, Audu Musa has described the Police Metro Traffic Division (MTD) as their major problem, saying that the police operating under the MTD while on patrol could stop any driver at any point and charge him very heavily for just no cause.
Bashir Ibrahim, a tricycle operator, blamed the operatives for the numerous traffic offences being committed at the traffic junctions by some road users.
‘’As a road user you are supposed to stop whenever the traffic light turns red but you would notice that most of the time these people would stop you even before the light turns red and once you stop that is the end of it because anything you explain to them will just fall into deep ears,” he lamented.
Abdul-hadi Usman, another tricyle rider, however expressed different opinion, blaming the the Federal Road Safety Corps’ officials for their ordeals.
He maintained that Police and KAROTA agents only effect arrest after a traffic laws was violated but FRSC agents could stop drivers at anytime and ask for driver’s license.
“From there it gets to something else and before you know it you are presented with a long receipt to go and pay in a bank. The FRSC approach is the worst,’’ he maintained.
Musa Yaro, who claimed that he was a victim of police/KAROTA trap for more than five times, appealed to the operatives to embrace justice in their operations at all times, stressing that “it is only by so doing they could win public trust and cooperation.”
When contacted, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Magaji Musa Majiya acknowledged that the command had received similar complaints from the public and was taking necessary measures to address the issue.
Majia disclosed that the command had already formed a monitoring team to check the excesses of its personnel across the state.
He therefore appealed to the public to report any police officer who indulged into some unethical practices either directly to the office of the state’s commissioner of police or office of the PPRO, saying without the cooperation from the public, nothing could be achieved in addressing the problem.
Also, responding to the allegation, KAROTA Public Relations Officer, Murtala Salisu Abdullahi, said it was against the law for any official of the agency to collect money from any road user on the spot for whatever reason.
He said, “The normal practice for any violation of the traffic rules is to charge the offender to the mobile court constituting of lawyers and a judge. It is the court that decides the fine to be charged not KAROTA agents. Any KAROTA agent that demands on-the-spot payment will be on different mission and we have punishment for such personnel,” he said.