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Christmas: Travellers to South-East lament as increased roadblocks cause delays

As the Christmas holiday approaches, travelers heading to the Southeastern part of Nigeria are grappling with a surge in the number of roadblocks, causing frustration and delays on their journeys.

Several individuals who recently traveled to the Southeast took to social media to express their dismay over the unprecedented increase in roadblocks set up by security authorities. Investigations by Nairametrics further confirm these claims.

Emmanuel Kal, an Abuja-based merchant who frequently travels to the Southeast for business shared his experience, noting that while roadblocks were not uncommon, the number he encountered during his recent trip to Enugu State spiked by over 40% compared to his journey in October. He highlighted the proliferation of new roadblock spots, primarily set up by the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Army, causing significant delays as mass transit buses underwent thorough searches.

“I began noticing lots of new roadblock spots set up by the Nigeria Police Force and some vigilante groups from the boundary between Kogi State and Enugu Ezike,” Kal stated.

He complained that the roadblocks contributed to increasing his travel time as the entire occupants of the mass transit interstate bus he boarded were searched at some of these roadblocks. Furthermore, Kal noted that at some roadblocks set up by the Nigerian Army, all the passengers in the vehicle were asked to alight and walk 200 meters away from the checkpoint before they were allowed to get into their vehicle and continue their journey.

Similarly, a traveler from Lagos to Abia State, who craved anonymity, reported a staggering increase in roadblocks on the East-West Road, leading to considerable traffic and a three-hour extension of her travel time. Despite the inconvenience, she expressed a sense of security due to the presence of multiple security forces.

She had visited Lagos State in September to spend time with her newborn grandson in what is notably known as “mugwort”. She said that the roadblocks she experienced on her way back to Abia after spending several months in Lagos were unprecedented.

“During my trip back to Abia, the roadblocks on the East-West Road were so much that the checkpoints were barely 5 minutes away from each other,” the new grandmother shared.

Ezekiel John, traveling from Ogun State to Ebonyi, also attested to a noticeable increase in roadblocks, emphasizing the presence of over 20 new checkpoints compared to his journey in March.

“When I traveled to my hometown in Ebonyi in March this year, I noticed some roadblocks at strategic parts of the highway.
“But last week when I was traveling to my hometown for Christmas, I noticed that there were over 20 new roadblocks I did not come across in March,” John explained.

What drivers are saying

Interviews with transport company drivers shed light on the widespread impact of increased roadblocks.

Chijioke, a Peace Mass Transit driver, said there has been a surge in roadblocks since December, causing substantial delays and, at times, leading drivers to pay bribes to hasten their passage.

“Since December, I noticed that the number of roadblocks has increased on the roads leading to the East.
“These roadblocks are set up by various law enforcement authorities, including the Nigeria Police Force, Federal Road Safety Corps, Nigerian Customs Service, and the Nigerian Army.
“The roadblocks are so close to each other that we just drive a few minutes to see another one,” Chijioke explained.

Another driver, who pleaded anonymity, revealed that roadblocks added over three hours to travel time, with drivers paying significant sums, ranging from N1,000 to N3,000, at checkpoints between Anambra and Abia during nighttime.

Security agents give reasons

A personnel of the Nigerian Customs Service named Odudu who agreed to speak with a Nairametrics correspondent on the issue of the unusual increase in roadblocks gave some reasons to justify the increase. According to Odudu, more roadblocks are set up by personnel of the Customs Service during this Christmas season to get hold of cars that were smuggled into the country without paying taxes and customs duties.

He pointed out that vehicular movements across state lines are generally increased during the end of the year as many people are traveling for Christmas, and such presents the opportunity to get a hold of smuggled vehicles.

“We (NCS) have more roadblocks during this season because of the high traffic of vehicular movements across state lines.
“These roadblocks help prevent leakages and escape,” he said.

Also, a senior Police Officer was interviewed to get the reasons for the increased number of roadblocks on the roads during the Christmas period. The Police Officer who craved anonymity said the increased roadblocks set up during the Christmas season was a proactive measure to nip crime in the bud.

“The trend has been that during festivities, such as Christmas, there is a tendency for people to commit crime. The roadblocks that are being set up serve as a proactive measure to prevent people from committing crime,” he said.

He added that the “stop and search” procedure which is usually performed at Police-manned roadblocks helps in the busting and arrest of criminals travelling with arms and ammunition across state lines.