COMTUA urges police to end extortion of truckers

The Council of Maritime Transport Union Associations (COMTUA) has urged the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police, Zone 2 Onikan, Lagos, Adeleke Adeyinka, to end the continuous extortion of truck drivers along the port access roads in Lagos by traffic officials.

The President of COMTUA, Yinka Aroyewun, who led some members of the council on a courtesy visit to the AIG on Friday, lamented that truckers have become a cash cow for the enforcement team consisting of the Police, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, (LASTMA) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

Aroyewun urged the AIG to put an end to the extortion, noting that some of the bottlenecks outside the port corridors fall under his jurisdiction.

He said while unions are being tagged as the gathering of touts, COMTUA consists of law-abiding citizens who know the importance of the maritime sector to the economy.

“We want you to come to our aid. It has got to a level where police officers remove our plate number, demanding that we part with some money before the plate number is returned,” he alleged.

Responding, the AIG assured that he will bring sanity to Apapa, noting that while there is no perfect environment, his office will stop the illegal act on the port access roads.

The AIG also urged the members of COMTUA to have a representative who will be part of the enforcement team, adding that by doing so it would be easier to address the issues raised.