Motorists plying Enugu- Port Harcourt Expressway have accused personnel of the Aba Unit of the Federal Road Safety Corps, (FRSC) of extortion.

They insisted that if the activities of the Corps personnel were not checked, their action would tarnish the image of the agency.

A cross section of motorists, who spoke to our correspondent, said: “It doesn’t matter if your vehicle papers are complete or your driver’s licence is genuine, the FRSC officials on the highway must find a way to intimidate and extort money from motorists.”

The motorists called the authorities of the agency to ensure that they carried out surveillance on their men on the highway in order to curb their excesses.

Narrating his ordeal to Vanguard, a commercial driver who gave his name as Chidiebere Nwadiuba, alleged that he was delayed for almost an hour even before he was asked to continue with his trip because he refused to bribe some officers of the agency who stopped him on the highway.
Another driver, Mr. Enemuo Chika, also narrated an encounter between his friend and an FRSC officer in front of their Aba Unit Command headquarters which nearly degenerated into fisticuffs.

“On my way to work at Umuahia, an official of FRSC suddenly appeared on the expressway to stop a motorist on speed. The driver nearly hit him but managed to stop, close to the FRSC van.

“They blocked him as if he was running away from them and when the man stopped, the FRSC personnel became very aggressive and pounced on the guy’s front door, opened it and started fighting the driver trying to forcibly take his car key.

“The official ruffled the man in the presence of his wife seated right in front with her husband and later took the car key from the ignition, bending it in the process,” he said.

•Adapted from Vanguard. Photo shows FRSC road personnel at work.

Update news