There was gridlock on Koko- Yauri Road in Kebbi State yesterday because of clash between a trailer driver and soldiers manning a checkpoint. The traffic jam, according to witnesses, lasted for more than two hours.
The bone of contention was the refusal of the driver, Jamilu Yahaya, to give a N200 bribe allegedly demanded by the soldiers. The driver of the trailer with the registration number TRN 99 ZG Kano said the soldiers requested for N200, which he refused to give them. According to Yahaya, the soldiers refused to allow him to proceed with his journey while one of them threatened to beat him.
The driver added that one of them started shouting and threatening to kill him if he refused to give them the N200. Yahaya also claimed that the said soldier smashed the windscreen of his vehicle with a big stick.
He said: “When I told him that I did not have the money, he started harassing me and beating me. Then, I blocked the road. I told him I would not remove the vehicle unless he paid me N10,000 for the damaged windscreen.” It was learnt that the soldiers later gave the driver N5,000. The soldier in the centre of the crisis denied the allegation.
The soldier said he did not demand N200 bribe but the driver refused to obey traffic rule. He said: “I asked him to stop but he refused. He tried to prove stubborn that was why I broke the side mirror of his vehicle. But for the N200 bribe, honestly it was a lie.”
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