Motorists Lament Extortion On Aba-Ikot Ekpene Highway

Angry motorists and passengers, particularly traders commuting betwixt Akwa Ibom and the neighbouring Aba, Abia State, for regular businesses, person decried alleged extortion by information agencies.

They complained that the abbreviated agelong of the Ikot Ekpene-Aba interstate road has been overwhelmed with 20 checkpoints from Ikot Ekpene, Essien Udim to Opobo junction, peripheral to Aba North. The passengers, mostly traders, disembarked astatine assorted spots, particularly Ariaria International Market, to store their wares for onward retail astatine Ikot Ekpene, Uyo, and different locations successful Akwa Ibom.

“Ordinary, the travel that would person lasted astir 45 minutes from Uyo, the authorities capital, would beryllium go lull astatine the portions betwixt Ikot Ekpene and Aba, due to the fact that of galore checkpoints, wherever information agencies and the section toll collectors extort drivers astatine random,” Emmanuel Etim, a trader successful utilized apparel astatine Ibom plaza, Uyo, lamented.

Emma, arsenic helium is popularly called, who hails from Nsit Atai section authorities country of Akwa Ibom State, regretted that “most of what we gain arsenic profits are taken implicit by other levies imposed connected america by the drivers who usually carnivore the brunt of extortion astatine each the checkpoints earlier crossing into Akwa Ibom.”

Our analogous cheque revealed that equipped soldiers, policemen, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the section toll collectors from the villages dot the highway.

It was gathered that portion the commercialized buses and taxis person a fixed toll of betwixt N200 and N500 per checkpoint, agelong haul trucks and different articulated vehicles wage overmuch higher, astatine N1,000 and above, depending connected the quality of your cargo.

“Every time we walk astir N3,000 to N5,000 arsenic toll conscionable betwixt Ikot Ekpene present and Aba, which is conscionable astir 20 minutes thrust if the checkpoints were not there. And, if you adhd this to the manhour lost, the turnover is earnestly affected,” a commercialized autobus operator, who identified himself arsenic Agumba, lamented.

At each point, it appeared the drivers already knew however overmuch to gaffe into the outstretched hands of each bribe – taker arsenic tips for plying the road dualised lone from the Essien Udim information and dotted with velocity bumps to retrain speeding motorists from escaping the toll postulation points, our analogous noted.

And commensurately, the amerciable levies imposed connected the vehicles and goods coming from large commercialized centres similar Lagos, Onitsha and Aba, it was gathered, person combined to exacerbate prices of indispensable goods including fabrics, secondhand products and livestock, particularly cattle, goats and rams coming into Akwa Ibom from Northern Nigeria.

At Itam International Market successful Itu LGA, adjacent to Uyo, the authorities capital, it was gathered that though the prices of large staples, including garri, beans, rice, potato, and onions, person dropped significantly, the prices of assorted meats—pork, dog, beef, and goat—remain astronomically high.

“We wage excessively overmuch tolls ferrying these animals from the North down South”, Adamu Illiasu, a cattle trader astatine Nassarawa livestock marketplace astatine Itam, explained.

“The astir achy 1 is the amerciable levies we are forced to wage conscionable betwixt Aba and Ikot Ekpene astatine assorted points earlier migrating towards Uyo,” helium added.

Another livestock dealer, Abubakar Isa, astatine the Hausa/Fulani colony on Eka Street, Uyo, expressed the aforesaid lamentation, saying “the aggregate taxation is earnestly affecting our business.”

“We mislaid astir of our backstage patrons but politicians due to the fact that the taxes are imposed connected the buyers successful instrumentality truthful we that we tin marque small profits”, Isa added.

However, a elder subordinate of the Hausa/Fulani community, who spoke connected information of anonymity, urged governments astatine each levels—states, LGAs, and federal—to urgently intervene truthful that the masses could respire nether the yoke of the prevailing socio-economic challenges facing the country.

“When we heard that the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) person met and took a solution to dismantle roadworthy blocks connected their assorted States for toll – escaped movements of indispensable goods, we were truthful blessed for the bully news.

“But small did we cognize that it was lone connected paper, due to the fact that if you cheque assorted large highways particularly down the South, you would observe assorted azygous men and women successful their sleazy concern of extortion of roadworthy users, particularly commercialized trucks, buses and taxi operators,” helium noted.