Driving from one town to another in the northeastern Nigerian state comes at a price. Asides risking their lives, road users are also frequently levied by security agents on the highways — and because of the Boko Haram insurgency, there are so many of them.
, could hardly be ignored. Passengers gradually filled the minibus, and at quarter past eight in the morning, we set out on the three-hour journey to Gwoza. I had asked the transport workers union officials to allow me to sit at the front of the vehicle, which gave me two advantages. One was being able to hear as the driver, 52-year-old Musa Gwoza, shared fact after fact about the history of Nigeria’s military rule.
Extortion of road users is a widespread problem in many parts of Nigeria, particularly on highways. Exploiting their positions of power, the corrupt security officials use intimidation and threats to get money from truck drivers, transport companies, and other travellers. They may demand payment for safe passage through certain areas, for permission to load or unload goods, or for protection from crime along the route.
Samaila Usman, 43, says he gives at least ₦1,200 every day to security personnel as he drives from Bama Park to Gwoza and back. There are 15 to 16 major checkpoints on the route where drivers believe they are mandated to give the ‘what do you have for the boys’ money. “The police, road safety corps, NDLEA, immigration officers, and the Nigerian Army all collect cash from us,” said Ismail Buba, a truck driver who conveys goods from Maiduguri-Banki down to Gwoza town.“They make it look like it is obligatory to give the abnormal ₦50 or ₦100 at each checkpoint. Sometimes, they make it look like they are doing us a favour by collecting money from us. We don’t refuse because it serves as our ticket to the next checkpoint towards our destination.
He claimed that all the checkpoints along the Mafa road collect money from all commercial vehicles all the time when they have goods with them. Soldiers receive more money and customs officers are only given bribes when the drivers are smuggling rice across the border. Truck drivers are charged even more on the road. Abba Pele, who drives one, said he has to pay ₦500 per checkpoint every time he is transporting cargo between Maiduguri and Dikwa, and this applies to about 16 of them.Let’s take a look at the Maiduguri-Gubio road too. It has about 25 checkpoints: 15 manned by soldiers, three by police officers, two by CJTF, one by the FRSC, one by Customs, one by the NSCDC, one by NIS, and the last one by the NDLEA.
NURTW officials at the Gubio Park told HumAngle that between 25 and 35 commercial vehicles pass through the route daily. This number goes up on some days, especially during food distribution exercises at displacement camps.
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