A Police officer attached to the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) on patrol at Berger Cement bus stop in Apapa, Lagos, Inspector Deborah Olufunmilyo has been accused of damaging about five trucks in the employ of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) in the early hours of Wednesday (today) over the inability of the drivers to pay one hundred and twenty thousand Naira (N120,000) bribe.
Our correspondent gathered that the said trucks were conveying empty containers from a holding bay at the Kirikiri Lighter Terminal to the Tincan Island port when the officer accosted them between the hours of 1am and 2am.
Speaking on the development, the Chairman of NAGAFF, Kirikiri Lighter Terminal chapter, Engr. Emmanuel Umeadi told our correspondent that the trucks were on call up going to Tincan alongside other trucks ushered in to drop their empty containers when the officer accosted them.
Umeadi disclosed that on accosting the trucks, she asked the drivers to bring the sum of one hundred and twenty thousand Naira (N120,000) bribe to enable them gain access to the port or be turned back to the holding bay from that point.
According to the NAGAFF Chairman, when the boys informed the officer that they had obtained clearance from a senior Police officer simply identified as DSP Femi to proceed to the port to drop the empty containers, she insisted that DSP Femi be put on call for her to confirm their claim saying that if she doesn’t hear from DSP Femi at that hour, the truck would not be allowed passage.
In his words, “We had a serious issue early this morning, one Inspector Deborah Olufunmilayo, destroyed all NAGAFF trucks on call up system going to Tincan this morning when all other trucks ushered in to Tincan were going. She asked the boys on the road to bring N120,000 or we should call Femi. She said that if she doesn’t hear from Femi at that hour, the truck will not pass.
“The trucks were about 50 but they come in batches of six trucks each, she turned back six trucks and ended up destroying about five of them. She said that we should call whoever we want to call, that she will not allow the trucks pass unless we bring the money or they should call her.”
He added that when the drivers could not produce the amount she demanded, the officer ordered them to turn the vehicle back to where they were coming from and in the process ordered her men to start damaging parts of the vehicles including the side mirrors and the vehicle glasses.
“While other ones were passing, she never allowed NAGAFF trucks to pass. She ordered her officers to break the glasses of the vehicles with knives”, the Chairman said.
As at the time of filing this report, the five affected vehicles were still parked in front of MTN Office at Berger Cement bus stop.
Meanwhile attempts to get Inspector Deborah Olufunmilayo to comment on the incident proved abortive at she refused to pick her calls and never replied to a text message sent to her by our correspondent.
Photo: A side view of one of the vehicles allegedly damaged by the Police officer, Inspector Deborah Olufunmilayo on Wednesday in Lagos.
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