₦airaland Forum

The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has accused police and military personnel of extorting a staggering ₦21.8 billion from roadblocks in the South-East geopolitical zone within two months.

According to a statement by the Chairman of Intersociety, Comrade Emeka Umeagbalasi, the police allegedly pocketed ₦15 billion, while the military netted ₦6.8 billion between December 2024 and January 2025.

Umeagbalasi described the Uga Junction and Atani Road Naval checkpoints in Onitsha, Anambra State, as the “most lucrative,” allegedly yielding over ₦600 million from extortion at gunpoint.

Umeagbalasi stated, “The deployed personnel of the Nigerian Armed Forces and the Nigeria Police Force in the South-East seized no less than ₦21.8 billion from civilians during the Christmas and New Year periods, under gunpoint extortion and related practices.”

The findings revealed at least 300 direct military roadblocks and 500 patrol teams in the region, with 98% involved in extortion. Each military roadblock reportedly collected an average of ₦100,000 daily, translating to ₦80 million daily or ₦2.4 billion monthly.

Police personnel manning about 2,500 roadblocks in the region allegedly raked in an average of ₦10.5 billion over two months, alongside ₦3.5 billion from barracks extortions and an additional ₦1 billion from other forms of corruption.


State-by-State Breakdown of Police Extortion

Imo State: ₦2.94 billion

Anambra State: ₦2.52 billion

Abia State: ₦2.1 billion

Enugu State: ₦1.68 billion

Ebonyi State: ₦1.26 billion

Umeagbalasi highlighted that the acts contravened Section 108 of the Armed Forces Act, which prescribes a 14-year jail term for military personnel involved in extortion, and Section 99 of the Criminal Code Act, which criminalizes police roadblock extortion with penalties of up to seven years in prison.

He urged the government to take immediate steps to curb these corrupt practices, enforce existing laws, and hold perpetrators accountable.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/01/police-military-extorted-%E2%82%A621-8bn-at-south-east-roadblocks-in-two-months-intersociety/

What we have on our roads, especially in the southeast, are extortion points, not checkpoints.

Who is the Accountant calculating it🤔 Rubbish Fake misinformation!!

Some people will just sit back in their houses and release needless data. Did you calculate the amount with the security agencies to know how much they extorted?

Just get the SE governors to meet the president so he can order the defence headquarters to dismantle the extortion points.

Okay.

This level of revenue is unheard of — not even Nigerian Breweries PLC pulls this off. They might as well rebrand as Nigeria Police PLC and Nigeria Military PLC, then list their shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange for a public offering.

The roadblocks in the South East have nothing to do with fighting crime or insecurity

They are all extortion points the Police, Army and even Navy all use to extort motorists and passengers of millions of Naira daily

It's common knowledge anyway.

Acekidc4:
Who is the Accountant calculating it🤔 Rubbish Fake misinformation!!

There’s no misinformation here.

You need to visit the entire Southeast to realize that what we have on our roads are purely extortion points, not checkpoints.

Bobloco:
There’s no misinformation here.

You need to visit the entire Southeast to realize that what we have on our roads are purely extortion points, not checkpoints.

I can't be having meaningless argument with you over this false information. Shey You dey help Dem dey checkpoint 🤔

Acekidc4:
Who is the Accountant calculating it🤔 Rubbish Fake misinformation!!

local champion that don’t and will never leave his cage. Ozuwor

Only criminals will say it is a lie.

Police and army are no 1 criminals in southeast.

What has your support for Tinubu got to do with police collecting money at checkpoints? Perhaps its your hate for the East driving your yeyeness

SmartPolician:
Some people will just sit back in their houses and release needless data. Did you calculate the amount with the security agencies to know how much they extorted?

Just get the SE governors to meet the president so he can order the defence headquarters to dismantle the extortion points.

The most shocking thing is that they do not use that money for anything meaningful achievement in their lives.
All they do is patronize 🍻 beer parlours and ashawo.
Then they end up using the balance of the money to treat STI and strange sicknesses.
Cursed people.

See dem...disciples of 'na statistics we go chop'

Acekidc4:
Who is the Accountant calculating it🤔 Rubbish Fake misinformation!!

The road blocks should be reduced in number I am not in support of dismantling it totally.

Acekidc4:
I can't be having meaningless argument with you over this false information. Shey You dey help Dem dey checkpoint 🤔

You are actually the only one arguing meaninglessly.

DMerciful:
See dem...disciples of 'na statistics we go chop'

You're speaking incoherently, i can't hear you🥱

Nigerian security bodies like the army, police and DSS are nothing but occupation forces in the south/east! They exist primarily to preserve and protect the interests of the ruling elite! The other pathetic thing is that, come Mondays, when their presence is actually needed on the streets and roads, that’s the day they will pick to go AWOL!

IGBOPROMISE1:
Nigerian security bodies like the army, police and DSS are nothing but occupation forces in the south/east! They exist primarily to preserve and protect the interests of the ruling elite! The other pathetic thing is that, come Mondays, when their presence is actually needed on the streets and roads, that’s the day they will pick to go AWOL!

It's shocking how Simon Ekpa single-handedly commanded the entire East, enforcing the Monday sit-at-home without a single word of defiance from the IGP or COAS. None of them even dared to set foot in the region. But the moment he was sidelined, they all magically found their voices and courage. Now, checkpoints are raking in more revenue than all the states in the East combined.

This is very interesting.

SmartPolician:
Some people will just sit back in their houses and release needless data. Did you calculate the amount with the security agencies to know how much they extorted?

Just get the SE governors to meet the president so he can order the defence headquarters to dismantle the extortion points.

You sit under your brown roof in osogbo and be talking Cho Cho Cho about south east.

You Yorubas always support oppressive government, it will reach you people soon.

Drones needed

Nlfpmod, it might not be up to that, but from Sagamu towards Onitsha, more than 167 checking points.

That of obollo afor to ortukpo road are very teribble expecially the police and road safety over there, they harass u intimidate u as if they personally habour u for mind before embacking on their extotion biz. That small road spanning 20km starting from obolloafor axis has not less than 110 extotion points containing amry,police and roadsafety they dont Care if u Carry any items that is bad inside ur car they will keeps looking for fault even when there is no fault to pin u down
Iam just surprise that govt of the day allows them to have a field day in south east expecially that axis

DMerciful:
What has your support for Tinubu got to do with police collecting money at checkpoints? Perhaps it's your hate for the East driving your yeyeness

This has nothing to do with the support of Tinubu or a political party but rather the animosity and crude hatred towards Igbos.

They collapse internally at anything promoting the East and defend any information portraying the region in a bad light.

It's now endemic and they are triggered subconsciously.

Nigeria Military and police in East are criminals..







All of them.

Ojiofor:
The road blocks should be reduced in number I am not in support of dismantling it totally.

No need to reduced it.



Those extorting and commiting crimes in those places are Ipob.

Okay, Security's Votes

Reason they'll rather die put.

This is just road blocks o, by the time they compute "revenue" from house breaking like our demised efcc guy at Awka, and from "bail", the sum should be in the neighbourhood of a trillion Naira.

The Nigerian police is a dog shit institution...

Yet southeast remains the only region with 5 states

Ah!

Hmmm...