Police Brutality: Protesting truck drivers block Numan-Gombe highway
The Numan-Gombe highway has been blocked by protesting truck drivers, the Truck drivers barricaded the busy highway on Thursday in protest of an assault by police officers on the road, causing much hardship to other travelers.
According to reports, the protest started around 9:00 am and was trailed by the chaos that disrupted vehicular movements and caused gridlock for commuters plying the busy road.
An eyewitness traveling with his family, who was held up in the traffic, said the incident had caused passengers traveling on the road to be stranded for hours.
It was gathered that other truck drivers, had parked their trucks out of solidarity in such a way that made the road impassable for other motorists.
DSP Sulaiman Nguroje, spokesman of the police command in the state, confirmed the development to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Yola.
Mr. Nguroje said that the commissioner has directed the Numan Area Command to, as a matter of urgency, transfer the accused officers to the state command for prompt investigation.
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“The Command has received a report of misunderstanding between its officers and truck drivers over extortion allegation.
“The development that truck drivers blocked the Yola-Gombe federal highway and as a result of the extortion caused hardship to travelers and other road users.
“Upon receiving the report, the Commissioner of police immediately intervened and summoned the Numan Area Command to transfer the accused officers to the state Command for investigation,” Mr. Nguroje said, indicating that the Commissioner has zero-tolerance to corruption and other related cases.
Yusuf Haruna, leader of the truck driver’s union in Adamawa state said the drivers took the decision to protest police brutality after some officers of the Nigerian Police Force physically assaulted one of their members who denied them a bribe.
“The driver refused to give them a dime and proceeded to his destination.
“Angered by the driver’s attitude, the police pursued and blocked the truck at Mbalang village, along Numan-Cham Road, pulled the driver out, and started to beat him.
“Upon seeing what was happening to their colleagues, some truck drivers came to rescue him and in the process, the police fired tear gas to disperse the drivers,” Mr. Haruna narrated.
He explained that when the situation deteriorated, truck drivers blocked the road completely, adding that while the police were beating the driver, N40,000 went missing from the driver’s pocket.
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