Police make N.1m from Kano-Jigawa road checkpoints daily

Dutse—Each police check point along Kano-Jigawa highway make an average of N100,000 daily from the compulsory N20 ‘toll’ they collect from motorists travelling on the road, which leads to other north eastern states. No fewer than 5,000 vehicles ply the road daily.

Vanguard findings revealed that motorists pay the bribe to avoid being delayed by those manning the checkpoints. Those who fail to pay are delayed until they comply.
The checkpoints, which were re-introduced because of terrorists’ activities, have been turned into fast money-making avenues by the Police officers.

A commercial vehicle driver, Malam Abdullahi, lamented that most drivers were compelled to pay the fee as any attempt to resist the payment could infuriate the policemen into keeping the ‘’culprit’’ for a longer time. He added that commercial drivers spend between N120 and N140 at the various checkpoints on each trip between Jigawa and Kano states.
He said their union leaders once took a decision that drivers should stop paying money at the checkpoint. He said the action could not last more than 48 hours as they had to pay or park by the road side, wasting valuable time.
Vanguard also gathered that the police officers, who perpetrate the act, were posted from other states and were neither under Jigawa nor Kano states police commands.
Source: Vanguard News.