South East, economic checkpoints and security operatives

A 2018 report accused Nigerian security and law enforcement agencies of pocketing as much as N100 billion in roadside bribery and extortion in the South-eastern part of the country alone over the last three years. In a statement to PREMIUM TIMES, the International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law said findings into the report began in August 2015.The report with pictures that seemed to show officers receiving bribes at checkpoints.

BusinessDay Newspaper captured it thus: “Welcome to Southeast Region: Nigeria’s Headquarters of Official Highway Robbery is the title of a 2018 report by the International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law (Intersociety), a non-governmental organisation. The research for the report was conducted between 2015 and 2016 in the south eastern states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo and some parts of Delta States. It graphically indicted the Nigerian police and other security outfits of collecting about 100 billion naira in bribery and extortion from motorists in the region. This amounts to 12% of the regions’ 2019 budget estimate of 870 billion naira (according to a recent presentation by Ike Chioke of Afrinvest.)

Globally, the World Economic Forum estimates that corruption costs the world economy 5% of its combined gross domestic output. This percentage encompasses the various vintages of corruption as categorized in extant research. Of course, if we sum up total institutional corruption in the SE region of Nigeria alone, it would triple this 12% police-specific bribery and extortion in the region.“

According to Intersociety, “the report is also in response to the proposed military operations in Eastern Nigeria, code named: “Operation Python Dance IV” and “Operation Crocodile Smile IV”, scheduled for 1st Nov to Christmas Eve of Dec 2019 as well as planned flooding of the two regions particularly the Southeast with alleged greater number of “Federal Road Tollgates”.

“This is even as it is found that 70% of all Federal Roads in Eastern
Nigeria are a death trap.”

But Tony Onyima, a former managing Director of The Sun newspapers went a bit further. Here is his story.

Concerned by the increasing complaints about the pains of Nigerians plying the Lagos-Onitsha route, I decided to seize an opportunity on Wednesday, November 27, 2019 to find out the real situation. For complete experience, I traveled with one of the transporters at Jibowu. After an excruciating traffic along Redeemed Church corridor, we finally commenced the journey to Onitsha at 10:30am. By the time we arrived the Niger Bridge, I had counted 60 checkpoints. I was painstakingly taking notes and few shots. These checkpoints were manned by either soldiers, police, customs, SARS, FRSC or a combination. Below are the locations of the checkpoints to guide your next trip to Onitsha.

LAGOS TO ORE:

1. Ilisan – Police checkpoint just in front of Babcock University
2. Ilisan 2 – Another police check less than 300 meters after Babcock
3. Ijebu Ode toll gate – Customs
4. Ijebu Ife – Police
5. Ijebu Itele – Customs, FRSC and Army
6. Ijebu Itele 2 – Police and FRSC
7. Ijebu Itele 3 – Police
8. Ajebandele – Police
9. Ajebandele 2 – Police
10. Ajebandele 3 – Police and FRSC
11. Ajebandele 4 – Army, Police
12. Ajebandele 5; less than 100 meters – Police
13. Ajebandele 6; less than 40 meters – Police
14. Ajebandele 7 – Police
15. Ajebandele 8 – Police
16. Ajebandele 9 – Police
17. Akinfosile – Police
18. Omotosho – Army
19. Omotosho 2 – Police
20. Obatedo – Police
21. Orilewo – Police
22. Orilewo 2 – Customs
23. Orilewo 3 – Police
24. Orilewo 4 – Police
    ORE TO BENIN:
25. Ore 1 – Police
26. Ore 2 – Customs and Police
27. Ofosu – Army
28. Ofosu 2 – Police
29. Ofosu 3 – FRSC and Police
30. Ugbogui Town – Police
31. Okada – Customs and Police
32. Okada 2 – Police
33. Okada 3 – SARS
34. Okada 4 – Police
35. Okada 5 – Police
36. Okada 6 – SARS
37. Okada 7 – Army
38. Okada 8 – SARS
39. Okada 9 – SARS
40. Okada 10 – Police
41. Okada 11 – Police
42. Okada 12 – Police
43. Iwinosa – SARS
44. Benin toll gate – Customs, FRSC, SARS
45. Benin By-Pass – Police
46. Benin By-Pass 2 – SARS
47. Benin By-Pass 3 – Army
48. Ugoneki – Police
49. Ugoneki 2 – Police
50. Abudu – Customs
51. Abudu 2 – Army
52. Omumu-Agbor – Army, FRSC, Police and Customs
53. Agbor – Police
54. Ekwuoma – Police
55. Issele Uku – SARS
56. Issele Uku 2 – Police
57. Akwa Ukwu – Customs and Army
58. Ogwashi – Customs
59. Okpanam – Customs and Police
60. Onitsha Bridge head – Mopol

You can imagine what will happen in the next two weeks when my brothers and sisters begin their Christmas migration.

We at Law & Society conclude with Bongo Adi‘s words in BusinessDay Newspapers.

“There is no gainsaying that the extortion of transporters increases the cost of doing business in the east. Every naira extorted from the taxis and buses is directly passed on to passengers which increases the cost of living.

Beyond cost of living adjustments necessitated by this brazen menace of daylight banditry by the police, it needs to be stated that it is this sort of maltreatment that breeds disillusion with the government of the day and the system of governance and can be found at the root of current political dysfunction and social disunity in this country. One of the reasons Nnamdi Kanu and his IPOB flag as the justification for their protest is this victimization of the SE citizens of Nigeria by the nation’s security apparatus.

While acknowledging the rising spate of insecurity in Nigeria — not just the south east — that has necessitated increasing police presence, we cannot fail to condemn the increasing militarization of the state and the employment of intimidation as a governance tool. The economic consequences far outweigh any political gains — if there were any.”