Protest erupted Wednesday night after a police officer allegedly shot a lorry conductor to death at a checkpoint in Ozara village in Okene Local Council of Kogi State, leaving many travellers and other road users stranded since Wednesday night. A witness, who gave his name as Bashiru, told an online medium that the incident occurred at about 10.00p.m. after a lorry conductor refused give a N100 bribe.

Bashiru, a truck driver, said the trigger-happy policeman demanded for bribe from the driver of the truck, and the driver, in turn, asked his conductor if there was N100 with him to settle the policeman.

According to the witness, when the conductor said he had none, the police officer asked him to alight from the vehicle, and then shot him dead on the spot.

Sources said after the shooting, truckers – numbering more than a hundred – plying the highway barricaded the road since 10pm Wednesday night.

The truckers barricaded the only way linking North to West and Eastern parts of Nigeria. Bashiru said he and his colleagues would not vacate the route until authorities take a decisive action stopping uniformed men on the road from collecting bribes.

One of the travellers said the policeman allegedly shot the driver for refusing to give him bribe. He said on getting wind of the killing of their colleagues, other truck drivers on the road mobilised themselves and blocked the road in protest.

Reports said the divisional police officer in charge of Okene area visited the scene of the incident yesterday morning and explained to the protesters that the policeman who shot the conductor had been detained.

The spokesperson for the Kogi State Police Command could not be reached for comments.
Meanwhile, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has advised motorists to avoid using the Lokoja/Okene road and use alternative route, saying the route had been blocked “because of some security issues.”