Nigerians groan over rising police extortion, checkpoints on highways

Nigerians on Monday took to X.com to voice their outrage against some members of the Nigeria Police Force, accusing them of exploiting illegal methods like mounting checkpoints and stop-and-search operations to extort travellers during long-distance trips on major highways.

Despite the Force Headquarters’ Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, urging travellers to refuse any payment demands made by officers on major highways, some victims of these operations insisted that the police required a complete overhaul to end the problem.

On Monday, @grandmaster_01 recounted his experience, accusing police officers of extorting motorists and travellers on highways between the Federal Capital Territory and the South-Eastern parts of the country.

“A road trip from Abuja to the SE leaves one in awe of the misdemeanours of your men and officers against motorists.

The extortion is mindless.

“They are reckless in extorting motorists. Our vehicle dropped money at every checkpoint or you risk being parked for a long time,” @grandmaster-01 wrote.

A serving member of the National Youth Service Corps, using the handle @Kingmanuel700 on X.com, recounted a similar experience while sharing a receipt of the money allegedly extorted by policemen at Okpella in Edo State.

He lamented that his complaints had been disregarded despite persistent efforts to seek redress.

The victim tweeted, “Help me tag @Princemoye1. I still got extorted too, because I was a victim even when I showed them my NYSC identification card.”

Describing police extortion on major Nigerian highways as “a cankerworm that has deeply infected the police system,” @PMalarchy accused some officers of assaulting an elderly man for refusing to pay the N100 they had demanded from him.

“One of their men slapped a driver of about 60 years the other day because he (the driver) gave him (the policeman) N100 and was parked when he protested; the policeman slapped the old man,” @PMalarchy wrote.

 While corroborating the alleged extortion of policemen on the major highways, @Sethbundle007 claimed the operations on long-distance journeys had become dangerous for motorists.

“I can relate several times since I will not give shishi.

The incidents on our highway with the police look more dangerous now than thieves. I was once told I borrowed my car from a thief and that they will investigate with government guns in their hands; stories can be created,” @Sethbundle007 posted.

Another Nigerian, using the handle @Brodasolar on X.com, called on the Force Headquarters to address the behaviour of its personnel, particularly during late hours on the Benin-Asaba Expressway.

@Brodasolar stated, “Baba, most times the delay is just on purpose, especially at night.

The extortion that goes on every day between Benin-Asaba Expressway en, na only God fit help us overcome am, and this is not the case in the north. You need to caution your men.”

In response to some of the accusations on his verified X.com account, Adejobi urged motorists to support the police’s efforts by refusing to give money to any officer on the highways.

He wrote, “We all need to play our role to curb the menace of extortion. This matter has been addressed severally. It’s better to be delayed at their points than to dignify corruption or extortion.

“Play your role and curb the menace. If someone wants to collect money or bribe you for having all your documents, would you pay? If you pay for such, why? It’s a simple thing: don’t dignify any abnormality. The best way to go.”