Xmas: Travelers Narrate Ordeal over Multiple Checkpoints, Extortion by Police, Other Security Agents on S’East Road
IGP
By Our Correspondent
For Nigerians who travelled to the South East or South South by road for the Christmas and New Year celebrations, it was a sad story to tell about their experience.
Motorists and passengers who spoke to SHIPPING DAY were full of lamentations over their ordeal on the road beginning from Shagamu in Ogun State to Onitsha, Anambra state up till December 26, a day after Christmas.
It was gathered that some who travelled between December 20 and December 25 could not get to their respective homes the same day because of the multiple checkpoints and the worsened gridlock at the Onitsha Headbridge.
A motorist who identified himself as Okey said he had left Lagos at 4am with his family to Owerri on December 22 in a private car but could not get home till after 12midnight.
He identified the problem as multiple checkpoints by the Police and other security agents beginning from Shagamu in Lagos.
According to him, the checkpoints were few poles away from each other.
He said that most of the police officers and others on the road virtually turned beggars as they flagged every vehicle asking for tips for Christmas.
He said the situation was worse at Onitsha headbridge where he spent 6-hours before he could cross the bridge.
He said that having left early he was able to get to Asaba by 11am (after joining some police escort to take one-way) but spent six hours with his family trying to cross the bridge.
According to him, both police, members of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) compounded the problem over their activities on the headbridge.
Other passengers who travelled between December 23 and December 24 had worst scenario and could not get home the same day.
Incidentally, some families who wanted to take flight could not get ticket as most airlines were said to have been fully booked as far back as September-October.
Those who managed to get flight spent close to N120,000 for a one-way ticket.
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