CP Olufemi Abaniwonda
* Stop extorting motorists at checkpoints, Oteri-Ughelli PG tells police
By Jon Egie
Delta State Police Command has refuted allegation that live bullets were fired at women who engaged in a violent protest at the premises of the Area Commander’s Office in Ughelli yesterday.
A release issued by the Command’s PPRO, SP Edafe Bright said the Command was aware of an allegedly sponsored protest in Ughelli North LGA on Monday, May 6, and debunked the narratives as false.
” The Command wishes to debunk the false narratives currently being circulated on some sections of the media that Policemen shot at peaceful protesters. The Command wishes to state that nobody was shot during the protest, however, the use of tear gas was rightly used to disperse the protesters.
” For the avoidance of doubt and to put the record straight, the Command wishes to state as follows;
” On Monday, 6th May 2024, at about 1130 hours, some members of Oteri community, Ughelli approached the Area Commander Ughelli and requested that Policemen be withdrawn from the express road. The Area commander declined and informed them that the deployment was in compliance with the directive of the Commissioner of Police CP Abaniwonda Olufemi on the need to ensure police presence in that area to prevent kidnapping and other crimes.
” Surprisingly, women from the community in their numbers forcefully stormed the Area command premises in a violent protest, beating up a policeman in the process, and they were dispersed with the use of tear gas. The report making rounds that Policemen shot at peaceful protesters is false and should be completely disregarded.”
Contacted, President General of Oteri community, Mr Efe Odibo corroborated the police position affirming that the police discharged tear gas to disperse the protesting women. He however added that one of the protesting women was badly hurt by tear gas canister which impact caused serious bruise and damage to the skin and bone of the lower leg.
Narrating his side of the story, the Oteri-Ughelli community leader said the protest was necessitated by the unprofessional attitude of the police in relating with the public.
According to him, the police mounted illegal roadblocks along the Oteri Road where they forcefully extorted money from motorists especially Okada and Keke operators plying the road.
” Between Oteri and the Ughelli Main Market there are five checking points and at each checking point money is extorted from the Okadamen or Keke drivers. The amount demanded by the police used to be N100 per Okada or Keke but they have recently raised the toll to N200 and because of this the motorists have correspondingly raised the transport fare for Commuters between Oteri and the market to N300 per passenger boarding à Keke and N600 for passenger boarding Okada. Persons commuting beyond 7pm pay as much as N700/N800 to pass through the GRA route to link the market area otherwise, if they pass through the normal Oteri Road, they have to pay N1000 to pass by the Police Station where there are two checking points and one other checking point at the Health Centre very close to the police station.”
He said the overflow of police presence on the road has caused so much economic and emotional distress to the women of Oteri and other adjoining communities along the road down to Otujeremi as they find it difficult to go and return from markets as a result of hike in transport fare occasioned by the hike in toll collected by the police from the Okada and Keke drivers. Even persons in critical health conditions are exposed to risk of death because of the police checkpoints that stop and demand the toll from the motorists before allowing them to proceed to the General Hospital along the road.
Efe Odibo said as landlord of the police, the Oteri community has enjoyed a convivial and peaceful relationship with police over the years and to that extent, over 70 per cent of Policemen serving in Ughelli reside in Oteri community.
He said he personally led a delegation of Oteri community leadership to the Area Commander’s Office yesterday to complain of the number of police checkpoints between Oteri and the market and requested the AC to prune the number to two and to prevail on the Policemen on the road to stop extorting money from the motorists.
While they were at the AC’s Office a huge crowd of women from Oteri, Ovwor, Okpare and as far as Otujeremi; in fact, women from all the villages along the police checkpoints axis mobilised and stormed the AC’s Office in a peaceful protest demanding that the police checkpoints be dismantled.
” I was there and stood at the gate of the AC to ensure that nobody gained entrance to the premises but while I secured the AC gate the gate of the ‘A’ Division was opened and the women gained access through that gate. At that point the police shot tear gas to disperse the crowd.”
Asked to comment on how a policeman was beaten up by the protesting women, the President General said he had no knowledge of that since he had to go to the General Hospital to sympathise with the woman who was badly hurt by tear gas canister fired by the police during the protest.
He appealed to the Governor of Delta state, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori to prevail on the State Police Command to refrain from arbitrary checking of motor vehicle particulars and let only government departments mandated by law do so, since that exercise creates leeway for police to extort erring motorists
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police Delta State CP Abaniwonda Olufemi while suing for calm reiterated that the “Command will not succumb to pressure from any quarters because the adequate protection of life and property is the constitutional mandate of the Police and remains the priority of the Command.”
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