Onitsha to Enugu express security checkpoints

1. Awkuzu Junction army
2. Awkuzu Junction FRSC
2. Dunukofia LG hqts police
3. Enugu ukwu Junction police
4. Amawbia Junction police
5. Unizik Junction army
6. Mopol base Awka Junction police
7. Prince and Princess hostel front army
8. Amansea boundary police
9. Ugwuoba boundary police
10. Ugwuoba bridge police team
11. Ugwuoba Junction army
12. Ugwuoba Junction NDLEA
13. Ugwuoba Junction FRSC
14. Ugwuoba Central army
15. Oji river Junction army 1
16. Oji River Junction army 2
17. Ezeagu express army
18. Near Nkwo ezeagu police
19. Near tiles factory police
20. Umumba Ndiuno express police 1
21. Umumba Ndiuno express police 2
22. Nsude express (approach to ninth mile) police
23. Ngwo express army
24. Ngwo express anti terror squad
25. Onyeama Hill (near refuse dump) army
26. Onyeama Hill (near coal mine) army
27. Abakpa interchange police
28. Abakpa Junction FRSC

This is what a traveller moving just 105 KM from Onitsha to Enugu will endure. A checkpoint after ever 3.7 km.

As I was going through this list of active security checkpoints on just on stretch of 100 km highway in the east, an idea struck me. Damn!

A person who knows the east will know they are mostly business people, moving around, buying, selling and moving goods and services from location to location. They also travel a lot from town to town, town to villllage, attend multiple events, and sometimes move out to another location to chill out and enjoy the day, mostly on weekends. These activities happen between the millions of people living within the south east

What about the millions of people arriving from outside the south east, to do business, to visit friends and family, to buy or sell goods, to attent events and yes, to settle and enjoy their lives.

The south east is a heavily populated area, with towns overlooking other towns, you could slip from state to state without noticing any boundaries. The towns are so close you could stand on one town and be looking into another big town. Its a lively part of the world.

For every thing that have an advantage, expect to see the disadvantages of it. Some evil people started to cash in on the movement of people between towns. They thought it lucrative to mount road blocks to (first) stop crime, but the idea quickly tuned from stopping crimes to committing crimes. Vehicles who have no reasons to be stopped, are delayed unnecessarily if they cannot pay a bribe to pass the roads, even if their papers are genuine, or the goods they are carrying are legit.

Successive government have failed to do anything about these chokehold checkpoints, instead, they have witnessed a frightening increase every year. It won't be surprising to wake up in one neighbourhood and see either the police or the military building checkpoints in a previously quiet area. No explanation will be given, it will be explained away as fighting crime. These checkpoints immediately turn to extortion points where the security forces openly collect money from motorists, 3ven giving them change for those who give out high denominations of the naira. They do this without fear, they do it openly, yet the top echelonnof the Nigerian security has never noticed this, in over 50 years.

Stories has been told, of quiet village roads, that nothing happens on, suddenly there will be a surge of kidnappings on the said road, and when the locals complain, Blam! a new checkpoint will immediately appear on the road Who did the initial provicative kidnapoings? Are you thinking what am thinking? If not, just read on.

These are extortion points

Because y'all are criminals

isan:
Because y'all are criminals

Statistics has proven that much less crimes occur in the south east than in any other part of Nigeria. Most other crimes happening in the south east are committed by immigrants, herdsmen, inter state robbers and kidnappers who return to their states after stealing from the east. If you mention your region, I will pull up your statistics for you. Thanks.

Most people from the former Eastern Nigeria don't know that these "extortion points" called "check points", were initially erected during the Nigeria Biafra war. They have been there ever sincess a vindictive Nigeria piles on with all sorts of evil tactics. At a point, it was so notorious that you would run into a checkpoint after every two poles or so, especially along the major highways with all the bumps and potholes. Sand bags closing one lane and all that.

Lots of officers were bribing their Ogas to be posted to the east because of this "lucrative enterprise" untill the UGM menace scared them off. If you lived in the Souh East all your life before travelling outside the country, one of the initial surprises that will hit you as you acclimatise to your new surroundings, is the absence of any AK47 wielding police crew every half kilometers

But some critical thinkers are starting to reason out some logic. If you want to solve a crime, follow the money. Since the checkpoints are lucrative, some people will be doing everything to justify it, and even be trying to increase the checkpoint revenue.

Some observers has seen that some heavy trucks, especially those arriving from the North to drop goods, or pick other goods, are made to pay as much as 1,000 naira in some checkpoints, some 500 naira, buses 200 naira, cars 100 naira. Get your calculator, check out what will happen if 1 million cars pass each if these checkpoints in a day. Yes, go ahead, press your calculator. Have you seen the humongous amounts of money being pulled in from these checkpoints? Do you see that it's enough motive to kill?

vanbonattel:


Statistics has proven that much less crimes occur in the south east than in any other part of Nigeria. Most other crimes happening in the south east are committed by immigrants, herdsmen, inter state robbers and kidnappers who return to their states after stealing from the east. If you mention your region, I will pull up your statistics for you. Thanks.

With the way you export your crime to other region,40% crime committed in Yoruba land are by your people.

MadPolitician:
Most people from the former Eastern Nigeria don't know that these "extortion points" called "check points", were initially erected during the Nigeria Biafra war. They have been there ever sincess a vindictive Nigeria piles on with all sorts of evil tactics. At a point, it was so notorious that you would run into a checkpoint after every two poles or so, especially along the major highways with all the bumps and potholes. Sand bags closing one lane and all that.

Lots of officers were bribing their Ogas to be posted to the east because of this "lucrative enterprise" untill the UGM menace scared them off. If you lived in the Souh East all your life before travelling outside the country, one of the initial surprises that will hit you as you acclimatise to your new surroundings, is the absence of any AK47 wielding police crew every half kilometers

UGM, wait there is a school of thought who thinks UGM is a product of the checkpoints

That's the interesting angle.

Nomercie:


With the way you export your crime to other region,40% crime committed in Yoruba land are by your people.

Who kidnapped Olu Falae?

Who killed a yorubaman and used bikes to run him over more than 20 times while his family are watching helplessly?

Who has been cutting heads from every streets in your region?

Don't get me started.

vanbonattel:


UGM, wait there is a school of thought who thinks UGM is a product of the checkpoints

That's the interesting angle.

Them UGM started using them as training targets and ronutards were all over the blogosphere with their normal unsolicited advice about how its wrong for igbos to burn down their region. Our Ogbomosho technical advisers.. These are folks whose abandoned grandparents in their villages have relocated to Benin republic as vintage refugees because of the fulani herdsmen menace. The ones who love us more than we love ourselves.

vanbonattel:


Who kidnapped Olu Falae?

Who killed a yorubaman and used bikes to run him over more than 20 times while his family are watching helplessly?

Who has been cutting heads from every streets in your region?

Don't get me started.

How many of your brother them kpai for Ladipo?where Evans dey operate before he was arrested? Your brother even came all the way from Anambra to steal bike in Ogun state,one of your sister was arrested in ikorodu few days ago for impersonating Sisi alagbo,Ogbeni don't even go there because evidence is everywhere

Nomercie:



How many of your brother them kpai for Ladipo?where Evans dey operate before he was arrested? Your brother even came all the way from Anambra to steal bike in Ogun state,one of your sister was arrested in ikorodu few days ago for impersonating Sisi alagbo,Ogbeni don't even go there because evidence is everywhere

Names and pictures, I don't do gossip.

vanbonattel:


Names and pictures, I don't do gossip.

This what you people do in our region

h

vanbonattel:


Statistics has proven that much less crimes occur in the south east than in any other part of Nigeria. Most other crimes happening in the south east are committed by immigrants, herdsmen, inter state robbers and kidnappers who return to their states after stealing from the east. If you mention your region, I will pull up your statistics for you. Thanks.

heavy

It could be heavy presence of security agents in SE that result in low crime rate in the region considering all the bandit camps and ugm operating in the region.However the number check points is just too much.