The Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria has lamented the alleged continued extortion of its members by the police at Apapa port.

The Vice-Chairman of the Lagos Chapter of RTEAN, Adeyemi Adeola, who spoke with our correspondent, said protests had already taken place from Ijora Bridge to Apapa port gate, following concerns raised by its members over the challenges.

He said members of the association had complied with the call truck-up system, also known as ‘Eto’.

Adeola said, “Which ‘operation money’ are they (police) asking for? We have our call-up; the Eto people have confirmed the call-up.

“I want to know the reason why they’re asking us for money before we get access into the port because the directive from the governor is that once you have your Eto call-up, you should not pay anybody one naira.”

Responding to the allegations, the Chairman, Association of Maritime Truck Owners, Chief Remi Ogungbemi, said, “It takes two to commit the sin of adultery.”

When asked to clarify if that statement meant truck owners were also at fault, he said, “That is what I mean by it takes two to commit the sin of adultery, because they didn’t put their hands in our pocket; we are the ones who did so to give to them.

“So, we are enlightening our members to tactically, peacefully start resisting giving out and we are also proffering solutions ourselves.”

When reached for comment, the Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Police Command, Adekunle Ajisebutu, told our correspondent that he was not aware of any such allegations of extortion.