Operatives Arrest Another 26 FRSC Officials For Extortion On Highways

Another set of 26 officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has been arrested for allegedly extorting money from road users on highways in the country.

The spokesperson for the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Mrs Rasheedat Okoduwa, disclosed this in a statement forwarded to Channels Television.

She explained that ICPC officials made the arrests in collaboration with some agencies of the Federal Government.

Other agencies involved in the operation tagged “Operation Tranquillity” included the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Department of State Services (DSS).

The arrest of the new set of FRSC officials was made public two months after the operation nabbed 37 officials of the agency for allegedly committing similar offence.

Okoduwa revealed that part of the operation conducted in Owerri, the Imo State capital also led to the arrest of a man who was alleged to be the custodian of the proceeds of extortion.

She noted that the operation was the second one in three months since the beginning of 2019, and was also conducted simultaneously across four states between October 2 and 5.

A breakdown of the figure revealed that the civilian and nine FRSC officials in Imo, eight officials in Kaura-Namoda – Zamfara State, five in Ore – Ondo State, and four in Potiskum – Yobe State, were arrested respectively on roads across the states.

Various sums of money were reportedly found on the arrested corps officials and the civilian during the operation before they were taken into ICPC custody.

All the officials and the civilian arrested have been granted administrative bail pending their prosecution by the Commission at the conclusion of investigations.

The ICPC spokesperson said this followed the receipt of a complaint from the management of the FRSC of extortion activities by some members of its patrol teams nationwide.

The FRSC management had observed that incidents of extortion were rampant on highways across the country.

The just-concluded operation was conducted in the four which were not part of the earlier operation carried out in six states.