Nightly Police Extortion Sparks Outrage Among Motorists In Calabar
Motorists and commercial drivers in Calabar have raised fresh concerns over routine nighttime extortion allegedly carried out by police officers near the Atakpa Police Station.
The troubling activity is said to occur along Calabar Road, close to Watt Market and directly opposite the Post Office, a location that has become infamous since the March 23, 2025 incident, where Inspector Effiong Bassey was reported to have fatally shot two individuals and injured several others.
According to eyewitness accounts, teams of about six officers are regularly stationed along this stretch of road from around 7:30 p.m. each evening. By 8:00 p.m., they begin stopping both commercial and private vehicles under the guise of routine stop-and-search operations. However, what unfolds is a consistent pattern of forced collection of cash—usually N200 to N500—from commercial vehicle operators, often under threat of violence.
Commercial drivers describe the situation as deeply frustrating and intimidating. One of them, Young Emmanuel, who drives an 18-seater bus, shared his experience:
“These officers no longer ask for anything meaningful. They just demand money outright. If you pass by more than once in a night, you must still pay each time—no less than N200. They wave their guns at you, shout aggressively, and even threaten to shoot.” He added that non-compliance often results in drivers being delayed for extended periods, sometimes up to an hour.
“Imagine how much they’re raking in each night with the number of vehicles passing through that area,” Emmanuel said.
Another driver, Orji Igwe, who operates on Marian Road and other routes within the city, confirmed that similar practices are common across Calabar and not limited to nighttime hours.
“It’s not really about checking papers or licenses,” he explained. “That’s just an excuse. What they actually mean when they say, ‘Let me see your papers,’ is ‘Bring money.’”
When one of the officers at the Atakpa post, who identified himself only as Peter and had no name tag, was asked about the purpose of the money being demanded, he reacted angrily and threatened the reporter, questioning his intentions. Efforts to get a comment from the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olusegun Omosanyin, were unsuccessful. However, the Deputy Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Igri Ewa, responded briefly: “Thank you for the information. We will verify.”