Posted by From YINKA FABOWALE, , Ibadan on
For the second day, tanker drivers on Monday barricaded the only major way that linked the Northern part of Nigeria with the Southern part at strategic points in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State over an alleged extortion of money from them by the police.
For the second day, tanker drivers on Monday barricaded the only major way that linked the Northern part of Nigeria with the Southern part at strategic points in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State over an alleged extortion of money from them by the police.
The action began on Sunday morning and it has led to a terrible hold-up, which was said to have extended from Ibadan to Oyo town. The hold-up was also said to have extended to Ibadan Toll-Gate along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, which effectively inhibited free flow of traffic along the high way.
Daily Sun gathered that the ugly incident started when a truck driver suddenly barricaded the Lagos-Ibadan expressway at Orogun which is in between Ojoo and Iwo-Road with his vehicle.
The vehicles following behind thought it was a joke and before they knew what was going on, another truck arrived and barricaded the road totally. People were still bashing the two drivers who did not listen to them when no fewer than four other trucks coming from Lagos end to Ojoo equally blocked the road at the other side.
When Daily Sun toured part of the affected areas, it was gathered that the truck drivers barricaded the road at every kilometre that made it impossible for other trucks and cars to pass. The number of blockages counted from Moniya to Ojoo, which is about 10 kilometers, was 15 while between Ojoo and Iwo-Road, 25.
It would be recalled that a similar thing had happened at Ogere along the same Lagos-Ibadan Expressway about three days ago.
According to a source, the tanker drivers protested the alleged frequent extortions on their men by the police to the Ojoo Divisional Police Stattion. The source further stated that the alleged extortion by the police reached climax and led to the crisis stage last Saturday. A tanker driver was said to have had a burst tyre along the Ojoo-Iwo road where he was allegedly forced to part with N50, 000 by a police patrol team.
The tanker drivers were said to be enraged as the driver, whose vehicle had a burst tyre, was also said to have been locked up at the station.
Only for the existence of Second Mecahnized Division of the Nigerian Army at Ojoo, the narrow space created for vehicles coming in or out of the Barracks, could not have been left at the Ojoo end of Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
Oyo State Ministry of Environment in conjunction with Akinyele Local Government was said to have inposed the sum of N50,000 on trailer as fine from any truck driver that indiscriminately parked along Lagos-Ibadan expressway, especially at Ojoo end of the high way
This was reportedly followed by the evacuation of the trucks/trailers to Akinyele where the state government had constructed a New Trailer Park for the tanker drivers.
The development led commuters resulted to trekking a very long distance as the situation made it pretty difficult for commercial motorcyclists to ride on the road which is the major road that linked the Northern part of Nigeria with the South-West.
The commercial motorcyclists popularly called Okada, however, employed the situation to charge high fares from those who could not trek. Moniya to Ojoo which on a normal day costs N100 with okada was N300 on Monday.
The Police Public Relations Officer for Oyo State Police Command, Miss Olabisi Okuwobi (ASP), told newsmen in Ibadan that the action of the trailer drivers was not unconnected with the fact that they did not want to pack to New Trailer Park constructed for them at Akinyele.