The Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF has accused border security operatives in Rivers State of extorting huge amounts of money from truck drivers carrying foodstuffs before they are allowed entry into the state.
The Public Relations Officer of the Forum, Alhaji Babajiyuwa Tanko made this known to news correspondents, yesterday in Port Harcourt.
He said truck drivers carrying livestock and staple foods such as Yams, Garri, Beans, and Rice are charged between eighty and ninety thousand naira before entering the state
Alhaji Tanko also alleged that some state government officials aid the border operatives in carrying out the illegal act. He noted that the extortion is what is responsible for the hike in foodstuffs in the state.
He, therefore, called on the state government to set-up a task force saddled with the responsibility of check-mating the activities of the border security operatives.
This is based on the organisation’s thinking that the security operatives may continue the illegal act of extortion even after measures against COVID-19 are relaxed.
If nothing is done by the government, the forum might stop bringing food into the state as traders struggle to recover their money after paying such huge amounts, Alhaji Babajiyuwa, declared.
