Tears, Pain, Humiliation, Extortion on South-East Roads

By Chuks Ofurum (Owerri) Victor Nwegede (Abakaliki)

The enormity of the suffering and humiliation going on in the South East roads can aptly be captured by the resolution of the Federal House of Representatives, ordering the Inspector General of Police, IGP, and other security Chiefs to immediately dismantle all security checkpoints from Lagos and Abuja to the South-East.

The House made the order after adopting a motion by Obinna Chidoka, PDP, member representing Idemili North and Idemili South Federal Constituency in Anambra State. Moving the motion, Chidoka had called on all security agencies to collaborate with each other in the discharge of their responsibilities saying they should avoid dissipating their scarce resources on multiple checkpoints on the roads leading to and from the south east. He believes that his proposal would facilitate free flow of traffic and relieve the pains and hardship of the motorists and other road users.

The House equally asked the IGP to immediately disband all check points at the Onitsha Head bridge which is creating heavy gridlock and also asked the FRSC to deploy adequate number of men and materials to ensure free flow of traffic between Asaba and Onitsha in view of the increased traffic flow.

For travellers in the Eastern part of Nigeria, it is a gory tales of woe, of anguish, pain, humiliation and blatant extortion. The epic film, “Passion of the Christ” has an inkling of what people from the South East go through on the roads to eke their living. A journey of two hours can last for a day, or days, depending on the number of road blocks that sprang up along the roads. No one is spared- the elderly, the young, pregnant women, etc, all go through this excruciating pain. On the South East roads, death and survival compete against each other. Hostility and sheer brute force laugh at each other. In other ironies, near friendly fire between different securities apparatuses, were merely averted by whiskers. All these happen on the roads on the South East.

At the last count, there were an average of twelve (12) checkpoints along the 84km road from Owerri to Onitsha this Saturday morning. This, according to a driver, is because it is morning period. By the time the Sun goes to rest, several other checkpoints would spring up all on that stretch of road, he said. On the Owerri/Onitsha road, all the security and paramilitary agencies are represented- The Army, Special Forces, SF, Special Police Unit, SPU, Counter Terrorism Unit, CTU, Regular Mobile Police, members of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Vehicles Inspectors, etc. There is another group, ragtag youths who stood with the soldiers collecting tolls from commuters which, some people claim, are indeed for some people in uniform. As bemoaned by the driver the True Vision reporter was traveling with who gave his name simply as Samson, commercial drivers who are “friendly” with the security personnel normally part with between N800- N1500 on each trip. Heaven help you if you try to play smart on these security agencies.

But the most humiliating of these checkpoints is the order on all passengers to disembark from their vehicles at each checkpoint and trek to a distance before continuing their journey. At Mgbidi, Imo State, travellers confess that they stay up to 2-4 hours before crossing the checkpoint. No one is exempted- pregnant women, women with babies strapped at their backs, the elderly who could hardly walk, even the disabled persons are made to go through this ordeal. But if the checkpoint at Mgbidi is light, the one at Abbot Boys Secondary School, Ihiala and Azia, a border town between Ihiala and Uli, both in Anambra State, are nightmares. It was like a war zone. Many of the commuters narrate their ugly ordeals in the hands of these security agencies at these checkpoints.

After disembarking from the vehicles, you raise your two hands in surrender. Even motorcyclists will raise one hand while pulling their machines with the other. While passengers disembark to obey the orders, there are tales of passengers missing their vehicles or drivers absconding with the luggage of their passengers. Sick and elderly ones are the most affected. The gridlock caused by these checkpoints can last for 12-14 hours.

The reporter had a feel of the nightmare on his return journey from Onitsha to Owerri. At the Ihiala checkpoint, vehicles were stranded for several hours on both lanes. It was a mass of human beings struggling to get to their destinations. On why they order all passengers to disembark, one of the soldiers who spoke with the reporter in Hausa language said the Ihiala axis of the road is a dangerous place where hoodlums and armed robbers operate frequently. As a safety measure, all passengers are ordered to disembark to avoid “surprise attack” on the security personnel. While he regretted that the measures were causing untold hardships to innocent travellers, he however stated that it was necessary to checkmate the rising cases of banditry, kidnapping and armed robbery in the two neighbouring States.

But a commuter who claimed that he was manhandled by soldiers at Uli, said the soldiers focus attention on the young ones who either had some tattoo on their body or were shabbily dressed. According to him, the security agencies posted to the South East now see every youth as either Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) or Eastern Security Network (ESN) members. Most times, the Soldiers do not investigate properly before arresting any youth who they do not like his or her face, another commuter quipped in.

But the harrowing experience commuters go through along Owerri/Onitsha road will pale into insignificance when compared with what people go through at the River Niger Bridge. When the True Vision visited the Asaba end of the bridge, vehicular gridlock stretched to several kilometres. That was at about 2pm, in the afternoon.  Few soldiers and officers of the FRSC struggled profusely to maintain the traffic. Members of Anambra State Traffic Management Agency, ASTMA, were equally on ground to enforce some semblance of free flow of traffic. But despite these groups, commuters at the Niger Bridge swore that they spent hours, even days to cross the Bridge.

But an officer of the FRSC blamed the gridlock on some inpatient drivers. According to him, the Niger Bridge is narrow hence the need for drivers to maintain their single lane but this is not usually the case. He also blamed the gridlock on the heavy traffic on the road and big vehicles which often break down on the bridge, making it difficult to control the traffic. This was collaborated by an officer of the FRSC Onitsha Unit Command who spoke on behalf of the Unit commander. According to him, his men were working tirelessly to see that travellers do not suffer untold hardship on the bridge during the Yuletide. While advising motorists to always obey simple traffic industrious, he however believed that with the completion of the 2nd Niger Bridge, the traffic situation would improve remarkably. On the efforts made by Anambra State Government to ease traffic on the Niger Bridge, an official of the Onitsha South Local Government Area told the True Vision that apart from the traffic management team on the road, the State government had embarked on massive enlightenment on the traffic situation of the Niger Bridge. The official who however did not disclose his name because he was not permitted to do so, further stated that several volunteer groups have been mobilized to assist the FRSC and the soldiers at the Bridge.

When the True Vision reporter visited the 2nd Niger Bridge, an official of Julius Berger Construction Company disclosed that the company was determined to meet the 2022 deadline, for the completion and commissioning of the Bridge. Coincidentally, the time True Vision reporter ran into some inspection groups both from the Federal Ministry of Works, the FRSC and Presidency who were on an inspection of work being done at the Bridge.

But while commuters await the completion of the 2nd Niger Bridge, the agony of travellers are being felt across the entire South East. The reporter had to trek from the Asaba end of the Bridge to Onitsha end because of the gridlock which lasted for hours. Those coming from Lagos, Abuja and other states said that they always had goose pimples when they were approaching the Niger Bridge. Many of them who do regular business in Lagos and Abuja told tales of endless waiting at the Bridge. Some even claimed that they had slept several days at the Bridge. But these frustrations often led to flare-ups between law enforcement agents and commuters resulting in dangerous fights.

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At the Ihiala checkpoint, two police officers engaged in a hot exchange with one of them cocking his gun. This led to stampede by passengers. As one driver puts it, there has been several of these disagreements between law enforcements officials which had resulted to skirmishes.

Apart from the gridlocks, the Niger Head bridge has been turned into a den of criminals where extortions by hoodlums have gained weight with many lives exposed to danger. People returning for the yuletide are the major victims of robbery attacks at the bridge.

A commercial driver, Mr Chukwuma Osulor said the bridge turns rowdy everyday mostly in the evenings where unscrupulous security agents force drivers to ply on one lane and extorting money from them before they would be allowed to proceed on their journey. His words: You have not seen anything. As from 4pm, you can’t find a way to pass here. By that time, some security people especially the police, will block the road and start collecting money. They usually collect one thousand naira and above.

*Our problem here is police because Road Safety does not come out in the night. The way and manner police intimidate people here is uncalled for. They treat us as if we are criminals. As they block the road, they would only allow drivers to be passing through one lane and before you know what is happening, you have spent over three hours here.

*From 4,5,6 and 7 o’clock in the evening when people are coming back from the market, the security people always blocked the road. So, it is the security people that have been causing these problems here. They are doing all this rubbish because they feel nobody can come and challenge them. They even allow agbero (hoodlums) people to intimidate drivers. Those they allow to be loading on the main road have already settled them. Anybody who fails to pay them, the name of that person is sorry”. A loader, Mr Angus Chibuike told the True Vision that the situation at the bridge has made drivers to increase transport fares and charges for passengers and their loads.

Also, a commercial motorcyclist, Amaechi I’ve lamented the high handedness of the security agents on drivers and motorcyclists plying the bridge expressing fear that if the situation continues, the bridge will explode.

“Everybody who plies the road has one harsh experience or the other to tell as far as the security agents monitoring the area are allowed to continue their nefarious activities. None of us that makes use of the bridge including the commercial drivers, okada or even the pedestrians have one ugly experience in the hands of the security agents. These people will collect money from you, beat you up with a stick. We are exposed to many dangers including robbery attacks; both our lives and property are under threat with no hope that the so called security people will intervene. We therefore call for government intervention to ameliorate the situation,” I’ve pleaded.

It may well be that respite is on the way for users of the Niger Bridge. Yesterday, Corp Marshal Boboye assured the Delta State Governor Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa that the Commission had, in collaboration with the Governments of Anambra and Delta States, taken measures to alleviate the sufferings of travellers, especially, on the Niger Bridge. Specifically, he assured that no traveller would have cause to spend the night on the bridge, Besides, as a proactive step, a tow van had been deployed to the Niger Head Bridge to remove any broken down vehicle, a situation that always exacerbated the traffic gridlock.

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For his part, Okowa reeled out the steps that his administration had taken to ease the sufferings travellers along the Delta corridor, with the Secretary to the Delta State Government, Chief Patrick Ukah, spearheading the special task.

While the steps taken by both the FRSC and the Governments of Anambra and Delta State are salutary, it is left to be seen what impact it would make towards alleviating the unsavoury plight of travellers. Besides, two other important issues deserve prompt attention. First is the claim of extortion which has become, painfully, a perennial problem. The second is the penchant to profile young people of south east extraction, a trend that has led to an uproar, time and again. The security agencies should rein in on their personnel to step back. Regrettably, often times, such unremitting assaults have led to the death of innocent citizens.