Anambra state Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo.
Anambra State Government, on Wednesday accused troops of the Nigerian Army, deployed in the state of converting their checkpoints to extortion points.
The State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Paul Nwosu, in a statement, frowned at the mass extortion of money from drivers and other road users by soldiers at various checkpoints across the state, The Sun online reports.
In the statement entitled: "Checkpoints or extortion-points," the government questioned the usefulness of the military checkpoints scattered throughout the state when the Army had not been able to apprehend any of the criminals unleashing violence on residents of the state.
The statement read, “It is a tragedy that the checkpoints manned by military men on literally all the roads across the state have precipitated punitive gridlocks, where the mass of Yuletide vacationers are rigorously trapped for many hours, an experience which the state government had worked hard to avert at this period.
“The recent practical experience of the Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Onyekachukwu Ibezim, in courageously confronting the soldiers on the Amansea end of the state calls for grave concern.
“It seems these military men manning the checkpoints have turned these places into toll points this season, thereby causing traffic jams and thwarting the government’s effort to ensure the free flow of traffic.
“The case of Amansea is particularly instructive because the Deputy Governor had warned the military personnel earlier in the day to allow traffic to move smoothly, but immediately after he left they resumed the unwholesome checkings.
“The sad aspect is that the military personnel are not apprehending the hoodlums harassing the state. What then is the use of blocking roads at this time when there is no particular intel to track an impending crime or fleeing criminals?
“This leaves one with one conclusion: that the long traffic jams are orchestrated just to extort money from drivers and motorists.
“This pernicious attitude to traffic management by our military is condemnable. The security of the state must not be compromised on the altar of making filthy lucre by men who ought to protect the people.
“Military subordination to civil authority should be emphasized forthwith and henceforth”, the statement reads.
In a trending video, the deputy governor, Dr. Ibezim was shown rebuking some soldiers at the Amansea axis of the Enugu – Onitsha expressway on Friday, December 23
for allegedly extorting road users and causing traffic gridlock in that area.
He said, “I came here in the morning to warn you about this thing. We must be sane in this country. I don’t want you to cause hardship on my people. This nonsense must stop in this country”, the visibly angry deputy governor said when he revisited in the evening of the same day.
Subsequently, he took over control of the traffic enabling many of the vehicles that had long been held up on the road to move while he was still there.
Commercial drivers plying that expressway have long been lamenting that they spend hours in the traffic jam deliberately caused by the deployed troops of the Nigerian Army whom they allege are more interested in extorting money from road users than securing the state.
Human Rights. Politics and Opinions.
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