The dangerous cement filled drums at the road block mounted along Onitsha-Owerri express highway road by the Nigeria Police Force very close to the Mobile police post at Irette near Owerri Capital territory which has claimed several lives and up turned many long vehicle that ply the route, has not only become a death trap for motorists but a toll gate for the police.
Commuters who ply the route usually lament that there are poor reflective warning signs to indicate “slow down” on the approach to the meandering type of obstacles that would not allow drivers negotiate easily thus forcing such long and heavy duty vehicles to tumble leading to loss of lives and goods.
Last week a long bus with plate No YG 418 ENU, travelling from the Onitsha end into Owerri, capital territory en-route to Aba suddenly ran into the obstacle and was overturned without damage to the drums and the driver went to town to hire a towing van to help retrieve the badly damaged heavy duty vehicle and sadly the police in that location demanded for some payment before they could assist to control traffic, in order to let the vehicle to be retrieved as alleged.
He stated that apart from damages to the bus, goods worth several hundred thousands of naira were lost in the accident, though no life was lost.
Next to the ill fated bus a few days later was a forty foot trailer fully loaded with plastic wares with plate number Lagos, Epe 278 XL en route to Aba in Abia State from Lagos which ran into the obstacle and was over turned with the goods badly damaged and the vehicle in bad shape.
The plight of the driver and his assistants who have been there for some days is how to meet up with police demand and feed themselves having exhausted all they had on them and begging to no avail.
According to one of the motor-boys who gave his name as Okechukwu, the police authorities had insisted that they would pay a fine of N20, 000 each for the seven drums their vehicle pushed down and that after that, they were equally expected to pay for the cement used in filling the obstacle.
Both the driver and his boys with their goods have been sleeping in the open air for some days without any help coming from anywhere while the police are demanding for a pound of flesh without care for the welfare or safety of the accident victims.
Road users who ply the route have queried on the rationale behind such meandering road block on such a busy high way without mounting a road sign in the approach to the scene or build a pedestal bridge and what the money demanded from accident victims would be used for since they are not improving the road to allow easy passage of heavy duty vehicles and long trucks.
There have been continued previous public outcries on that dangerous road block near the Onitsha road industrial layout and its nuisance to commuters.
Attempts to get a comment on the fatal situation could not yield any result as none of the fierce looking men in police mobile uniform was ready to talk to our correspondent. The victims are using this medium to alert the new Police Commissioner in Imo State, to do something about the ugly situation if it was not deliberately erected to cause severe accident and take the lives of innocent citizens of Imo State going about their businesses.
