"Worse Than Sambisa" — Port Harcourt Bus Drivers Cry Out Over Tout Harassment

For commercial bus and taxi drivers navigating Port Harcourt's busy roads, the daily commute has become anything but routine — and at Rumuola Junction, they say it feels less like a transport hub and more like a war zone.

That is the stark picture painted by Christopher Ezeali, Chairman of the Commercial Drivers Welfare Association in Rivers State, who has raised the alarm over what he describes as systematic harassment, intimidation, and extortion of drivers by touts operating boldly at Rumuola and Eleme Junction.

"It is worse than Sambisa Forest," Ezeali said — a comparison that, while striking, reflects the depth of frustration among drivers who say they are assaulted and forced to part with money at multiple illegal checkpoints, sometimes several times on a single trip.

But the ordeal does not end with the drivers. Ezeali alleged that passengers are also caught in the crossfire, facing harassment and outright robbery during clashes between touts and drivers. Adding to the gravity of the situation, he claimed that some security operatives may not be entirely clean — suggesting possible complicity in the very activities they should be curtailing.

Ezeali is now calling on the Rivers State Government to step in with urgency, specifically advocating for the introduction of a unified ticketing system that would eliminate the loopholes touts currently exploit, and restore some semblance of order and safety to the state's commercial transport corridors.

For the thousands of commuters and drivers who depend on these routes daily, the appeal is more than political — it is a matter of safety.