The numerous checkpoints and roadblocks on the highways and roads across the country by security agencies, including the Police, Customs, military and Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), have been identified
as one of the reasons for lost of man hours, increased prices of consumer goods and services and other items, especially since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.
Even within Lagos State, including on bad roads, it is not unusual to meet checkpoints, where the only activity is parting with something. “I heard that from Agbara to Seme and Owode, we have about 92 checkpoints in a distance that is not up to 30 kilometres. What were they looking for?” A motorist, Christopher King, who shuttles between Abuja and Jos, Bauchi and Gombe, said: “I carry day-old chickens to supply people. My worst experience has been that each time I am entering Jos from ‘Welcome to Jos’ point coming from Abuja and from Bauchi, I will meet several checkpoints and I will have to pay N600, N800 and sometimes N1000.
In Abia State, the military, Police and Customs mount checkpoints on most expressways. Going to Aba from Umuahia, the state capital, there are five steady checkpoints at Ubakala before the Enugu-Okigwe-Aba expressway and military checkpoints at Ntigha, Ugba Junction, Arongwa and Osisioma. The Force Public Relations Officer , Frank Mba, a Deputy Commissioner of Police , told The Guardian yesterday in Abuja: “It is a known fact that ‘patrols,’ ‘checkpoints,’ ‘stop and search,’ ‘observation points,’ and the like, are strategies to ensure visibility policing towards checkmating crimes and criminal activities world over.
Responding to a question about the abuse of checkpoints by some officers, he said: “We constantly request citizens to report to us, incidents of Police misconducts or inappropriate behaviour. Appropriate sanctions are in place to deal with inappropriate and unprofessional conducts or practices by Police officers, whether on checkpoint duties or elsewhere.
“If vehicular-related crime , car theft, kidnapping, intra-city road accidents, and the like, is on the rise in a city, it may be necessary to have Police stops to check it. “Having done these and there are perceived indiscretions and tendencies of unprofessionalism from the officer , do not engage the officers, rather request to speak with the most senior officer on ground. You can also report the incident later to appropriate Police authorities.”
A Police officer told The Guardian on condition of anonymity that less that 30 per cent of vehicles on the roads operate without valid particulars and prosecuting offenders according to the law would cause more problems for society. “We feel more secured when we see security keeping watch on the roads, for without them, people would not be on the road due to armed robbery attacks.
The backlash of the development was an astronomical rise in prices of foodstuffs and essential commodities in the state, especially major towns, such as Ilorin, Offa, Lafiagi, Patigi, Omu-Aran and Ajase-Ipo, with at least 40 per cent increments in the cost of rice, beans, maize, garri, semovita, yam tubers and cassava flour.
In various inter-town roads within Oyo State, checkpoints are common sights. On the Oyo-Ibadan road, there are about five, same for Iseyin-Ibadan and Shaki-Iseyin roads. “Some collect N200, others N500, but if we see some of them we are familiar with, they will collect N100. They keep collecting the money till now. Even while returning from Ogun-Oke, we will spend money from there to Moniya.
“So, their deployment is for protection of lives and property; to have a smooth drive and at the same time people can travel to their destination without attacks, kidnapping or robbery. Nobody sends anybody there to go and collect money; the main aim is to protect lives and property. Anybody doing that is doing so at his/her peril.
He had told the IGP that there were over 50 roadblocks between Enugu and Onitsha alone, adding that it was made worse by the fact that they are being used to extort motorists.
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