- Truckers to shut port operations over illegal extortion by maritime bandits
By Steve Agbota
A motor-boy who is assisting a truck drivers was crushed to death earlier hour of Wednesday on top of total bridge along Apapa port access road.
The incident happened when the Police and LASTMA who are to control traffic stopped the truck driver along with the motor-boy on top total bridge and asked the driver to pay N500 but the driver refused.
However, the refusal to give the Police and LASTMA officials N500 resulted to serious fight. The motor-boy was beating by Police and LASTMA until he fell under the trailer and he was crushed to death immediately.
The angry truck drivers have concluded plans to shut down all access points to ports and paralyse port operations until government remove all the extortion points along the port corridors.
The Administration Secretary, Association of Maritime Truck Owners of Nigeria (AMATO), Mohammed Sani who confirmed the development to Daily Sun said said traffic officers asked the truck drivers for money and refused and they started fighting, adding that they beat the motor-boy assisting the driver until he fell under trailer and the trailer crushed him to death immediately.
“Right now, the truck drivers and others are ontop of the bridge, they blocked all access points to Apapa port and they said until they release the driver of the truck because Police detained the driver. While other drivers are demanding for his release. Right now, the soldiers are ontop of the bridge to open up the road.
“We don’t have security and traffic control men along the ports corridors. What we have are just bunch of extortion bandits hiding under the guise of providing security and traffic control,” he said.
A truck driver Isiaq Rafiuayub who is called on other truckers to put an end to truck drivers brutality said government must remove all maritime bandits from the roads.
“We learnt that this morning Police and LASTMA who are to monitor traffic on total bridge asked a truck driver for money and he refused to give them, they drag down his motorboy and pushed him under the trailer until the trailer matched him and the motor boy is dead,” he said.
He urged every truckers to come out for protest and shut down the whole access roads leading into ports for one week until government remove all the extortion points from Alaka to Iganmu under-bridge.
“Then from total bridge coming into inward port, we don’t need extortion points there anymore. We need LASTMA to control the traffic situation. We need to shut down Coconut to Tin Can Port until further notice. We want government to stop illegal extortion by Police and Area-boys immediately,” he lamented.
