Motorcycle ban: Gombe riders accuse Police of extortion

Commercial motorcyclists in Gombe State, popularly known as “Achaba”, have alleged that policemen deployed to enforce restrictions of motorcycles in the state are extorting them. The Gombe State Police Command had on June 11 announced the ban on movement of motorcycles between 7pm and 6am in order to curb phone snatching and other crimes across […]

Commercial motorcyclists in Gombe State, popularly known as “Achaba”, have alleged that policemen deployed to enforce restrictions of motorcycles in the state are extorting them.

The Gombe State Police Command had on June 11 announced the ban on movement of motorcycles between 7pm and 6am in order to curb phone snatching and other crimes across the state.

Speaking with newsmen yesterday, the riders alleged that some police personnel are using the restrictions of motorcycle movement to extort commercial motorcycle riders and other private users in the state.

A rider who resides in the Kagarawal area of Gombe metropolis, Malam Ismail Kawu, said he was extorted twice paying N3000 and N5000, respectively.

According to him, during one of the incidents, the police stopped him on his way home around the Gombe State University gate just few minutes after 7pm, and he was forced to give out the only N3,000 he earned for the day.

Another commercial rider, Ibrahim Abdullahi, said he suffered similar fate in the hands of police personnel attached to Gona Division, around Alheri Junction.

He alleged that he paid N5, 000 to the officers on duty, who seized his motorcycle while he was returning home around 7pm.

Abdullahi alleged that, “I was not carrying any passenger, but I was rushing home to rest for the day; only for me to be stopped and had my bike seized.

“I was forced to pay N5, 000 for nothing, leaving me with only N2000 to fend my household. I am not against the ban, but it should carry human face, because the level at which the police abuse their power is alarming.

“Because we are Nigerians, and we deserve respect as we are only doing our legitimate businesses and should not be harassed like this.”

Another rider, simply identified as Sani, said enforcement of the law must be done with respect to human rights, “and not the way policemen are using it as a means of extorting the public.

Sani urged the state government and the police command to monitor the enforcement of the ban so that the essence of the restrictions would be achieved.

“If you are saying the ban was put in place to stop criminality, when officers extort us, is that not equivalent to the criminality we are trying to address?” he asked.

Daily Trust reports that other residents from the Nayi Nawa, Madaki, and Barunde areas of Gombe metropolis also shared similar experiences, urging the police command to investigate the allegations.

When contacted, the Gombe Police Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Buhari Abdullahi, said the command had not received report of alleged extortion by its personnel.

DSP Abdullahi stated that across all the 47 check points set up to enforce the ban in Gombe metropolis, no such issue was recorded, as senior officers are going round to monitor operation.”

He, however, said the allegations would be investigated, and necessary actions would be taken against any erring officer.

The PPRO urged residents to be patient and support the police in ensuring security, adding that the measures put in place were yielding positive results by reducing crime rate in the state.