A taxi driver called Umo Friday, father of four, just revealed that police attacked him along the NTA area of Ozuoba in Obio/Akpor LGA, smashed his side mirror, and threatened to shoot him dead all because he refused to give them a bribe of N100 on the way.
Friday Umo passed through this traumatic ordeal as he was closing for work on a Wednesday evening. Lamenting over the way uniformed men treat civilians, the driver noted that he saw three stranded passengers as he drove through the Obiri-Kwere area to Ozuoba, and decided to carry them in his car for free before he met the sinister officers.
The three passengers, two women, and a man didn’t know they were in for a long ride as the policemen flagged down the vehicle at 7 PM on Wednesday.
Narrating the story, Friday Umo said, “The three passengers, two women, and a man, were stranded because they didn’t get transport. So, I assisted them. As we were going just after AIT in Ozuoba, there was a police checkpoint there.”
Instead of checking for the relevant driver documents, the greed of the uniformed men came to the forefront when they sighted the three passengers behind. So, they demanded their share of the sales made for the day.
Lamenting about the extortion, Friday said, “The officers now asked me for N100, I told them that I helped these three passengers and that they were not paying me. The officers refused. The next thing one of them said I should park. Before I knew it, they broke my car’s side mirror and attacked me. I came down and said they must fix my side mirror.”
The scene attracted the attention of bystanders, as Friday Umo said their exchange got heated to the point where the officers threatened to shoot him right there.
Fortunately, those around found a way to resolve the incident and the driver was allowed to go. Friday Umo appeals to the authorities to caution their men who engage in stop and search duties.
