By David Onwuchekwa
Every day, countless commuters and motorists in Anambra State set out on their journeys with one fear hanging over their heads, the guaranteed encounter with security agents who have turned public roads into avenues for illegal toll collection.
What should be a routine passage has become an ordeal filled with harassment, threats, and outright extortion. Sadly, this shameful practice has become so entrenched that it now feels institutionalised, as if legitimised by years of official silence and societal inaction.
The presence of the police on Nigerian highways is expected to reassure law-abiding citizens. Their duty is to ensure public safety, enforce traffic regulations, and combat crime.
But in Anambra, as in many other parts of the country, the police are now widely perceived as part of the problem, not the solution. At almost every checkpoint, they shamelessly collect money from motorists, especially commercial drivers, under various flimsy excuses. Refusal often leads to threats, vehicle impoundment, or prolonged delays.
What’s even more troubling is the growing involvement of local vigilance groups, civilian security outfits that were originally formed to supplement the work of the police in tackling local crimes.
Today, these groups have become fully absorbed into the culture of highway extortion, operating freely alongside police officers, flagging down vehicles, interrogating drivers, and shamelessly demanding money. They neither have the legal mandate nor the moral justification to be on the roads harassing citizens, yet they operate with impunity.
The situation raises fundamental questions about governance and leadership. Why has the Anambra State Government remained conspicuously silent on this growing menace?
Why are there no visible efforts to check the illegal activities of these security agents? Are the roads no longer under the purview of State authority? Or has the suffering of the people become so normalised that it no longer commands attention?
It is the duty of government, both State and federal, to protect the rights and dignity of its citizens. Turning a blind eye to systemic extortion on public roads is nothing short of negligence. These acts are not just unethical, they are illegal and unconstitutional.
No citizen should be compelled to pay bribes to access roads funded by public taxes. No motorist should be made to feel like a criminal simply for refusing to part with money.
If indeed these security agents both police and local vigilantes are poorly paid or lack motivation, then that is a challenge the government must address through policy reform, not by tolerating extortion.
Upscaling their salaries or stipends and providing clear ethical guidelines, training, and monitoring are steps that must be urgently considered. In the absence of reform and accountability, what we have is not security but sanctioned harassment.
This issue speaks to something deeper: the collapse of trust in public institutions. When people are robbed not by thieves but by those wearing uniforms, the psychological damage is deep and corrosive. It breeds resentment, discourages compliance with laws, and erodes the moral authority of the State.
It is high time the Anambra State Government rose to the occasion and reclaimed its roads. The people are watching, and the silence of leadership on matters that touch the daily lives of citizens is no longer tenable.
Extortion is a crime, whether by a man with a gun or a man with a badge. And if nothing is done, this crisis will only deepen, leaving behind a trail of bitterness, lawlessness, and broken civic trust.
The roads belong to the people, not to extortionists. It is time to reclaim them.
