The Christmas and New Year festivities have brought the issue of multiple checkpoints and alleged extortion by different security agents across roads in South-East region to the front burner following the frustrating experiences of commuters and motorists.
The region is known for its rich cultural heritage, scenic landscapes, and warm hospitality. However, for travellers, the zone’s numerous checkpoints have become a source of frustration, anxiety, and unwarranted delays.
Plagued
The area is home to numerous security checkpoints, ostensibly set up to maintain law and order, prevent crime, and ensure public safety.
However, the sheer number of checkpoints, often spaced just a few meters apart, has created a situation where travellers are subjected to repeated stops, searches, questioning and dehumanizing treatments in some cases.
For travellers, navigating the checkpoints is often frustrating and stressful. The constant stops and searches leads to significant delays, causing travellers to miss appointments, meetings, and other events.
Onitsha to Enugu
For example, from Onitsha to Enugu, a distance of approximately 105 kilometres, there are a whopping 28 checkpoints. They are manned by various security agencies, including the army, police, Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
To break it down further, there are eight army checkpoints along the federal road including Awkuzu Junction, Unizik Junction, Ugwuoba Junction, and others. There are 13 police checkpoints including one at Dunukofia LGA headquarters, Enugu Ukwu Junction, Amawbia Junction, and others.
Furthermore, there are three FRSC checkpoints including Ugwuoba Junction, and Abakpa Junction. There is also one NDLEA location at Ugwuoba Junction. Other checkpoints include that of anti-terror squad and local neighborhood outfits.
Onitsha – Owerri Road
Similar situation is found in other roads in the region such as Onitsha – Owerri Road, Owerri – Aba Road and Enugu – Port Harcourt Road.
From Aba to Umuahia, Owerri to Okigwe, Enugu to Abakaliki, Awka to Onitsha to Nnewi, the story is the same.
From Aba to Enugu, a distance of 150 kilometres, there are at least 12 army checkpoints and over 16 police checkpoints, permanently mounted and a couple of stop and search police teams.
Put together, from Lagos to Onitsha, Abuja to Enugu and the numerous ones dotting other the roads in the region, no fewer than 4000 checkpoints constitute embarrassing barriers to people.
At each checkpoint, motorists are openly extorted amounts ranging between N500 to N1000.
This cuts across checkpoints manned by military and police.
Further checks showed the existence of about 38 checkpoints between Lagos and Ore.
They are demarcated with wooden flatbeds, logs, sandbags, and fire cans.
Also, from Ore to Benin has no fewer than 20. Benin to Onitsha is about 25 checkpoints.
Other checkpoints identified include Amaraku/Anara/Okigwe Road in Imo State, University of Nigeria Teachings Hospital (UNTH) in Ituku, Isuawa, Mpa, Ohia, Ihube, Mgboho, Nenwe, Okigwe junction, Lokpanta, Agwu Junction and Enugu-Abia boundary.
Others are at Ugwuoba, Enugu-Awka boundary, Awkuzu, Oyi Junction, Onuimo, Eke Obinagu Junction, Owo, Nkalagu, Enugu-Ebonyi border, Onueke, Ugwu Onyeama, Ninth Mile, Ezeagu, Oji River junction, Ugwuoba, and Enugu-Awka boundary.
Boundary
There are also Malaysia Market between the boundary of Owerri and Umuahia, PDS Owerri/Okigwe Road, Akanchanwa along Owerri/Aba Road,
Umuowa along Owerri/Aba Road, Mega Filling Station along Owerri/Okigwe Road, Amakohia Flyover Orlu Road. Ubomiri along Owerri/Orlu Road and Hospital Junction along Owerri/Port Hacourt Road among others.
Military checkpoints
One of the most dreaded military checkpoints in the zone is the one at Ihiala along the Onitsha-Owerri Road. In particular, the one located almost opposite Abbott Boys Secondary School, Ihiala, is a nightmare to those who use the road daily. Sometimes the traffic gridlock caused by the soldiers there could stretch up to one kilometre on both sides.
During the last yuletide season, the situation was exacerbated by the increased volume of travellers on the roads.
For many commuters and motorists, the experience of navigating the South-East region’s checkpoints was a harrowing one.
Some travelers reported being stopped at multiple places within a short distance, with security personnel demanding bribes or extorting money from them. Some have even reported being forced to pay bribes or being detained for hours without justification.
“I was traveling from Lagos to Enugu for Christmas, but my journey was delayed by over 5 hours due to the numerous checkpoints. The security personnel were slow and seemed uninterested in letting us pass”, said Mr. Mike Okoh, an indigene of Enugu who resides in Lagos.
Ifeoma Okwara lamented that she spent over three hours at a checkpoint in Anambra State. “I spent over three hours waiting at a checkpoint in Anambra State. The security personnel were slow, and it seemed like they were intentionally delaying us. It was frustrating and exhausting”, she lamented.
Money spinners
Findings by Sunday Vanguard revealed that checkpoints have become money spinners for operatives rather than a security measure to check the activities of criminal elements.
It was gathered that passengers bear the burnt of the financial pressure the alleged extortions place on motorists. For example, the skyrocketing cost of transportation is also linked to the money spent at checkpoints.
“I was stopped at a checkpoint in Imo State”, narrated Uche Nnadi. “The security personnel demanded that I pay N5,000 to be allowed to pass. When I refused, they threatened to detain me. It was a harrowing experience.”
Another traveller, Monday Expo, shared similar experience. He said: “I was stopped at a checkpoint, and the security personnel demanded that I pay N2,000 to be allowed to pass. When I refused, they let me go, but not before warning me that I would regret not paying the bribe.”
Others reported being subjected to humiliating searches, with security personnel rummaging through their luggage and personal belongings. In some cases, travellers reported being detained for hours, without any explanation or justification.
Chinwendu Uju said the development exposes commuters to avoidable risks and inhuman treatment, as passengers were sometimes made to disembark from their vehicles and trek across military checkpoints.
“I was travelling with my family when we were stopped at a checkpoint. The security personnel were rude and harassed us, demanding that we open our luggage for inspection. It was a traumatic experience.”
Call for Reform
The situation has become a major concern for the public. While the need for security is undeniable, the current approach is believed to be clearly not working, necessitating an urgent need for reform.
This is to ensure that security checkpoints are operated in a fair, transparent, and accountable manner.
Member representing Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency in Abia State, Amobi Ogah, called for immediate reduction of security checkpoints in southeast region, especially on the Onitsha/Enugu Expressway.
Ogah in a motion before the House of Representatives, said the excessive security checkpoints violate the rights of the people in the region to free movement, as well as affect economic activities. “These multiple roads checkpoints subject travellers to constant harassment, delays, and extortions of different sorts, in addition to other inconveniences.
“The House may be aware that the installation of numerous checkpoints along expressway violates the constitutional right of Nigerian citizens to free movement as enshrined in Section 41 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
“It is also a direct affront to the dignity of the people, particularly in the Southeast, where such levels of militarization are more pronounced. The House is notified that these security checkpoints appear to be more of a tool for harassment than a genuine effort in ensuring security.
“It is in the record that ordinary citizens, especially commercial drivers, are often forced to pay bribes at the checkpoints to avoid delays or harassment”, the lawmaker said in the motion.
He called for the use of modern and efficient means of managing security in the region without subjecting the people to undue hardship or violating their human rights.
Appeal
Meanwhile, South- East leaders had pleaded with President Bola Tinubu, to order for the dismantling of checkpoints and road blocks in the area, saying that the road blocks make goods expensive.
The demands were made at the town hall meeting during Tinubu’s official visit to Enugu State. Presenting his appeal, Onyemuche Nnamani noted that checkpoints and road blocks have a lot of drawbacks which have negatively affected the economy of the people in the zone and even constitute security risk.
He contended that with the modern command and control centre established by the Enugu State government and other strategies put in place, there was no need for the traditional checkpoints and road blocks.
“Checkpoints have many drawbacks; they make the movement of goods and persons very expensive, very inefficient, increase the low cost of logistics, leading to high inflation. They tie down valuable security manpower, they needlessly expose the brave men and women of our security agencies to attacks by criminals.
“In view of this, Your Excellency, we appeal to you to support Enugu State and security agencies, to deemphasize the traditional practice of roadblocks, stop and search and all that. Our people are really complaining about those things.
“It will be a great honour. When we say de-emphasize, what it means is that we are providing alternatives. You have seen the patrol vans, you have seen the cameras mounted all over the state. So we have alternatives to all this. So we just want to de-emphasize this issue of stop and search and roadblocks”, Nnamani explained.