The officials were arrested by a joint
inter-agency team, comprising the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), FRSC
and Department of State Security (DSS), operating in Kaduna, Bauchi, Abia,
Rivers, Kogi and Ogun states.
The spokesperson for the ICPC, Mrs.
Rasheedat Okoduwa, who made the disclosure in a statement yesterday, said the
joint team was established following complaint of extortion made by FRSC's
management against officials.
Okoduwa said: "A joint inter-agency
team, led by the ICPC has arrested 37 officials of the FRSC for allegedly
extorting money from motorists on Nigerian highways.
"The team also arrested five
persons, said to be agents of the corps officials in a sting operation carried
out simultaneously in the six geo-political zones. The team struck on 16th
August, 2019, following the receipt of a complaint from the FRSC management of the
massive extortion of money from motorists on the highways by its patrol teams.
“The FRSC management had, in the complaint
to the Commission, observed that incidents of extortion were rife in the six
states of Kaduna, Bauchi, Abia, Rivers, Kogi and Ogun. It was based on this
that the ICPC-led team went into action and identified the notorious spots in
each of the aforementioned states to include Aba in Abia State, Ahoada,
Ajaokuta, Itori, Torro and Gwantu in Rivers, Kogi, Ogun, Bauchi and Kaduna states
respectively.”
She added: " At least13 FRSC
officials, and two civilians were arrested in Aba in the South-east, while 24
other FRSC officials and three civilians were arrested from various spots on
roads spread across the other geo-political zones. Findings from the joint inter-agency
team indicated that various sums of money were found on the suspected and they
had since been taken into ICPC custody. However, all the officials arrested and
three civilian accomplices, have been granted administrative bail. They’ll be
prosecuted by the Commission at the conclusion of investigations.”
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