Panic As Tipper Drivers Block River Niger Bridge Over Extortion (Photos)

It was gathered that the protest started around 3am on Saturday, when some naval officers shot and damaged the tyres of one of the drivers’ trucks for refusing to part with the N1,000 they demanded.

 

According to a report by The PUNCH, the members of the Tipper Drivers Association have blocked the River Niger Bridge over an alleged 1,000 extortion by naval officers stationed at the bridge in Onitsha, Anambra State.

It was gathered that the protest started around 3am on Saturday, when some naval officers shot and damaged the tyres of one of the drivers’ trucks for refusing to part with the N1,000 they demanded.

The commotion, however, degenerated into a protest in the early hours of Saturday as the tipper drivers barricaded the highway blocking the Head Bridge. This prevented movement to and fro the area, thereby causing a total shutdown of the road.

The President-General, Great Tipper Drivers Association, Ebuka Unekwe, who revealed that that the crisis started 3am on Saturday, following “incessant molestations and dehumanising treatment meted out on them by naval officers in the area.”

Unekwe also said that the extortion of N1,000 from the tipper drivers by the Navy began in March.

See photos of the roadblock: