Delta Transport Unions Cry Police Harassment

A bitter dispute over the right to collect union dues in Delta State has boiled over, leading to serious allegations of police intimidation and harassment leveled by registered transport bodies against the Nigeria Police Force. The Motorcycle Operators Union of Nigeria (MOUN) and the Tricycle Owners Association of Nigeria (TOAN) have jointly appealed to the highest authorities—including the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the state Commissioner of Police (CP), and Governor Sheriff Oborevwori—to intervene, claiming their legitimate operations are being crippled by police collusion with an unauthorized group.

The outcry was made public during a joint press briefing held in Warri, where the unions complained that men of the Nigeria Police Force are actively preventing them from collecting their rightful check-off dues from members across all 25 local government areas of the state. This interference, they claim, involves continuous harassment, intimidation, and arrests. Speaking for both organizations, Julius Bobi, the Deputy National President of MOUN, and Famous Ogbe Foghola, the State Deputy Chairman of TOAN, detailed a series of arrests, alleging that some of their members were only released following the intervention of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), while others are facing police prosecution simply for carrying out their legitimate union duties.

The core of the dispute rests on legal recognition and constitutional authority. Both MOUN and TOAN assert their status as legally registered and recognized trade unions, with MOUN affiliated to the NLC and TOAN to the Trade Union Congress (TUC). They stress that their entitlement to collect check-off dues is fully backed by the extant Trade Unions Act.

Conversely, they allege that the Nigeria Police in Delta State appears to be collaborating with an unregistered group known as the Commercial Motorcycle and Tricycle Operators Association Delta State (COMTOA). The unions pointed out a critical legal deficiency in their rival’s operation, alleging that COMTOA is using the unapproved Coat of Arms in its illegal collection of check-off dues—payments that the unions argue are not sanctioned by law.

Bobi articulated the legal challenge, stating, “We’re challenging the rights of the Commercial Motorcycle and Tricycle Operators Association Delta State (COMTOA) for collection of union check off dues because the State Government doesn’t have such a constitutional mandate and never gave them (COMTOA) any.” He clarified that the power to sanction the collection of trade union dues is vested exclusively in the Federal Government, appearing on the Exclusive Legislative List of the Constitution, and exercised through the Minister of Labour and Employment for registered, bonafide trade unions like MOUN and TOAN. While acknowledging the State Government’s constitutional right to collect Road Tax under the Taxes and Levies Act, Bobi insisted that MOUN and TOAN are the only legally recognized entities entitled to collect check-off dues from riders, citing Section 17 of the Trade Unions Act. He reiterated that COMTOA’s collection of these dues is unequivocally illegal.

Furthermore, Bobi highlighted the gravity of COMTOA’s alleged actions: “COMTOA’s unauthorized use of the Coat of Arms to collect check-off dues from riders in Delta State is a direct affront to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; and akin to an act of provocation and a criminal act punishable by law.”

Corroborating this position, Foghola emphasized the urgent necessity for the Delta State Government and the Police hierarchy to intervene before the issue spirals into a full-blown crisis. He introduced a new layer of political intrigue to the conflict, alleging that some local government chairmen are beneficiaries of the collections made by the unrecognized COMTOA. This alleged vested interest, he claimed, is the reason behind the use of council area policemen to intimidate, harass, arrest, and even prosecute members of the legitimate unions.

The leaders made a direct and emotional plea to the IGP and the Delta CP to immediately call their men to order and appealed to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to intervene decisively. Their goal is to operate freely and exercise their statutory right to collect check-off dues from their registered members without fear of law enforcement interference. While urging their members to remain calm, they charged them to stand resolute and refuse to purchase tickets from COMTOA, despite any police intimidation.

In response to the serious allegations, the Delta State Police Command Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Bright Edafe, expressed ignorance regarding any official Police involvement in the intimidation or harassment of the union members. He offered an official avenue for resolution, advising the unions to formally document their complaints and submit them to the Commissioner of Police. Edafe concluded with a cautionary note, asserting that while police are not to interfere in revenue collection, they are “duty bound to respond” if any such activity leads to a breakdown of law and order. The onus, therefore, now rests on the Police leadership to investigate these claims of internal corruption and alleged collusion with an unauthorized body, which, if true, represents a serious abuse of state power.