HAULAGE operators have raised the alarm over an extortion point along the Creek road axis of the Apapa Port, stating that after similar oneswere dismantled.

According to them, security operatives now gather at this new point to extort truckers.

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, chairman, Dry Cargo section of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Abdullahi Inuwa, explained that truckers are subjected to unreceipted levy at the Mr. Biggs junction along Creek Road in Apapa by state and non-state actors after the dismantling of illegal checkpoints around Lagos ports.

“The new hotspot is the Mr. Biggs junction along Creek Road when you are approaching the Apapa Port gate.

“After the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) led other security agencies to dismantle illegal checkpoints around the Apapa Port axis, the unscrupulous elements extorting truckers have now moved to the Mr Biggs junction,” he said.

“You will see them hanging around that axis. Once a truck is approaching the port along Creek Road, men in uniform and non state actors emerge from nowhere at the Mr. Biggs junction and subject truckers to all manner of extortion.

“Haulage operators are losing millions at this junction because it is a major route strategically stationed in-between Apapa and Tin-Can Ports. So, there is no way a truck can come into Apapa or Tin-Can without passing through this axis.”

Recall that the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), alongside the Nigeria Police Force and the Lagos State Government, recently launched a joint task force to dismantle illegal checkpoints and extortion points along the Apapa and Tin Can Island port corridors.

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The initiative aims to eliminate unauthorized levies that cause severe traffic gridlock and inflate the cost of doing business.

Among the …… illegal checkpoints were on and beneath the Liverpool Bridge, the approach to the Tin-Can Island Container Terminal (TICT), PTML, and Ports & Cargo terminals.

Also, extortion points at the NAGAFF Junction, Etisalat, and Fidelity roundabouts in the Apapa axis were dismantled.