For the third time in the past two months,
another policeman has been caught on video
demanding a bribe of N10,000 from a motorist. The footage, secretly filmed by a passenger at the
back seat of a vehicle in Onitsha, Anambra State,
has so far received thousands of hits on
YouTube. The three-minute 18-second video
which first appeared on the YouTube channel of
one Tola Tim, has since become an Internet sensation. In the video, a policeman apprehended the driver
of a vehicle that was coming from Akure, Ondo
State to Umuahia, Abia State. The policeman sat in
the front seat with the driver, and after checking
the vehicle particulars, declared that he had
discovered some discrepancies between the documents and the chassis number. In the video, the policeman explained that the
number ‘0’ was the last number on the chassis
number inscribed on the vehicle, while number
‘3’was the last number on the documents
presented to him for perusal. The driver was seen arguing with the policeman
that he had asked him to veer off the road in
order to enable him (policeman) do proper
checking of the vehicle. Once the alleged
discrepancies were discovered, the policeman
insisted that he would collect N10,000 before he would release him. The driver’s appeal that there was an unintended
mix-up somewhere and that the vehicle was not
a stolen one fell on deaf ears. A nursing mother
who sat at the back also appealed to the
policeman. The man in uniform bellows, “Settle us. Just give
us N10,000 make I waka comot. Or is it too
much? If I knew you stole the vehicle, I won’t
collect money from you.” But the driver, on noticing the adamance of the
policeman, said he won’t give in to his demands. “It is three much! I want you to take me to your
station. I’m not afraid of anything. I can go back
to Akure. At worst, I will miss my appointment in
Umuahia. Why will I part with N10,000 on the
vehicle I didn’t steal? No sir! I can’t do that. “I will rather go back to Akure, get the
registration officer and other supporting
documents, come back with another vehicle and
clear myself. And that is to tell you that I have not
done something wrong,” the driver said. The unidentified driver also calmed the nerves of
the apprehensive nursing mother who clutched a
baby girl to herself. “My sister, don’t worry! At
worst, you will sleep in a hotel with your baby
when I go back to Akure,” the driver added. The policeman replied, “Eh eh. It is three much.
Wetin make am too much?” After ruminating
over the issue for some seconds, the policeman,
who was armed with a gun, ordered, “Driver,
come down.” And the video went dead. Meanwhile, outrage has trailed the incident on
various social media platforms. Those who have
watched the video online describe the encounter
as a pointer to the depth of rot and decay in the
Nigeria Police Force. They urged the Inspector General of Police, Mr.
Mohammed Abubakar, to conduct an orderly
room trial to ascertain the policeman’s culpability
in the alleged crime and place appropriate
sanctions on him if found guilty. An anonymous reader
on lindaikeji.blogspot.com says apart from
condemning the act of corruption and sacking
the culprit, more needs to be done to cater for the
welfare of the rank and file of the police. The reader said, “If you have a police officer as
your relative, you will understand better. The
income they get can’t even feed them alone not
to talk of their families. The country doesn’t cater
adequately for their needs. Many police barracks
look like refuse dumps and they are expected to live there with their children.” But a YouTube user, Paul Saint, argued that there
is no excuse for being corrupt, attributing the
behaviour to greed. Saint stated, “This has nothing to do with the
service welfare of the police. Corruption in
Nigeria has nothing to do with low or high salary
pay. If you are corrupt, no matter what you earn,
you will still find ways to illegally enrich yourself.
Most cases of corruption recorded in this country are perpetrated by persons who are otherwise
fairlycomfortable with bribes. “Corruption is as a result of greed only. Not
poverty or low pay. We must condemn
corruption at all times and not make excuses for
it. But even if they are not well paid, there is no
excuse for corruption. The most corrupt persons
in Nigeria started off with collecting less than N10,000 and because we excuse them or
celebrate them, they step up their demands to
millions and billions. Well paid or not, do not
demand or collect bribe.” It will be recalled that three cops have so far been
dismissed by the police authorities after being
filmed demanding bribes from motorists. A police sergeant, Chris Omeleze, who was
caught on video camera extorting N25,000 from
a motorist in Lagos in August was the first
casuality of the social media whistle-blowing. Two traffic policewomen, corporals Elizabeth
Itolor and Jennifer Azingbe, who were also
videotaped receiving N100 bribe from a
commercial bus driver at the Oshodi/Apapa
Expressway were dismissed earlier this month.
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