As the Christmas holiday draws near, travellers heading to Nigeria’s Southeast region are encountering an unexpected surge in roadblocks, leading to frustration and considerable delays along their journeys.
Reports flooding social media platforms and corroborated by investigations conducted by Nairametrics validate the claims made by several individuals who recently traversed routes to the Southeast.
The travellers lamented an unprecedented increase in roadblocks, causing substantial disruptions to their travel plans.
Emmanuel Kal, an Abuja-based merchant who frequently travels to Enugu State for business, highlighted a substantial rise of over 40% in the number of roadblocks encountered compared to his previous trip in October.
He noted the establishment of numerous new roadblock spots by the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Army, significantly impeding travel time as vehicles 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.
According to Kal, the situation escalated to the extent that passengers in mass transit buses were subjected to searches at multiple roadblocks, while at the same time, some checkpoints operated by the Nigerian Army mandated passengers to disembark and walk a considerable distance before reboarding their vehicles.
Similarly, another traveller commuting from Lagos to Abia State witnessed an overwhelming proliferation of roadblocks on the East-West Road, causing extensive traffic congestion and an additional three-hour extension to her travel duration.
Ezekiel John, travelling from Ogun State to Ebonyi, echoed the sentiment of increased roadblocks, citing the discovery of over 20 new checkpoints compared to his journey in March.
“When I travelled 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 travelling to my hometown for Christmas, I noticed that there were over 20 new roadblocks I did not come across in March,” John explained.
Transport company drivers also corroborated these observations, emphasizing the widespread impact of the amplified roadblocks. Chijioke, a Peace Mass Transit driver, highlighted a surge in roadblocks since December, leading to significant delays and occasional payment of bribes by drivers to expedite 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, speaking anonymously, revealed that these checkpoints have added over three hours to travel time, with drivers often paying substantial sums ranging from N1,000 to N3,000 at checkpoints between Anambra and Abia, particularly during nighttime travels.
