Extortion of motorists by officers and men of Nigeria Police Force has become an entrenched culture in Nigeria. It has become so brazen that while in the past such acts of illegality were common, perpetrators had some sense of decorum and had a way of managing it to keep public attention away from the absurdity. 

Today things are a lot different and the men and officers of the force have become so brazen in the act of extorting the public that decorum has been thrown to the wind. Police officers have severally been caught on camera collecting bribe from motorists; some at gunpoint.  Several innocent Nigerians have lost their lives at the ubiquitous police checkpoints all across Nigeria. Is this what 21st century policing is all about? Murdering helpless citizens for failing to pay bribes to gun wielding law enforcement agents? 

What many observers consider most shocking is that there are no fears of repercussions or punishment from the leadership of the force. From East to West, North to South, innocent Nigerians are harassed daily by Police officers for either asking why they should pay a bribe or for not paying enough.

Just weeks ago, a police officer was caught on tape telling a victim that he does not take "change" and urged the fellow to "pay better money." The officer later identified as Richard Gele admitted that the authorities of the force are aware that extortion of innocent citizens is a regular routine for officers. Although Gele has been disengaged from the services of the NPF, it would be naive to assume that he is the only one with such an extortionist mindset in the force. The truth is that there are worse elements than Gele in the force and they are all staying put. There is therefore little evidence to suggest that singling out Gele and punishing him would solve the problem of extortion on the roads by the officers. Question is: what if Gele was not caught on camera? What if the man who did the video had not risked his safety to do that? Can the IGP beat his chest and admit that he is ignorant of the activities of thousands of policemen like Gele on our roads? Can he announce under oath that what Gele said is not true? 

So instead of playing to the gallery, the IGP must come down from his high horse and begin to destroy the culture of extortion which continues to fester in the force today. If the officers require rounds of ethical trainings, let that be done immediately.  If there are people who are too wedded to extortion that they cannot do without collecting bribes from motorists, then they must be identified,  exposed, disengaged, prosecuted and dealt with in accordance with the law. Nothing can be as dangerous to the society as a law enforcement officer who becomes a willing law breaker. 

As a body, the Youth and Students Advocates for Development Initiative (YSAD) with support from Voice has mounted a robust campaign against extortion and engaged several stakeholders even at the Louis Edet House to find solutions to the problem of brazen extortion of motorists. From Owerri to Aba, Enugu to Abakiliki and matter of fact all across Nigeria, extortion of motorists happen from morning till night and the helpless victims plying the roads have no option but comply or face very dangerous consequences. 

A time to end this evil has come. We call on the IGP to go beyond the cosmetic approach of playing to the gallery and hold Divisional Police Officers responsible for the returns they get daily  from those who extort Nigerians on our roads to tackle the growing culture of extortion in the force. Nigerians  would be most grateful to the present IGP, Usman Alkali Baba even if his only achievement in office would be stamping out extortion on our roads. Road as we say in our campaign must never become another bank where police officer abandon their legitimate duties to become tellers. Matter of fact, the police checkpoints have practically become more profitable than several commercial banks in Nigeria. As InterSociety revealed not long ago, over 70 billion was made by the police from multiple checkpoints in the South east and south south regions alone between 2016 and 2018. Now think of how much was raised from other regions and by how much the figures have risen over the last few years since the perpetrators got more brazen and reckless. 

 Indeed, the time to act is now. The IGP must be at the  forefront of redeeming whatever is left of the image of the establishment he leads. The NPF cannot continue to be an embarrassment to Nigerians. 

Act now IGP.