The Disturbing Reality of Security Checkpoints in Southeastern Nigeria

 The Disturbing Reality of Security Checkpoints in Southeastern Nigeria In the heart of Biafra land, southeastern Nigeria, roadblocks have b...

 The Disturbing Reality of Security Checkpoints in Southeastern Nigeria

In the heart of Biafra land, southeastern Nigeria, roadblocks have become more than a security measure—they are a thorn in the side of the region’s citizens. Once intended to shield communities from crime and uphold the rule of law, these checkpoints have taken a dark turn, transforming into relentless points of extortion and unwarranted hardship. 

What was meant to foster peace now often appears to stir unease, leaving travelers with a question: Are these checkpoints truly for protection, or have they become instruments of oppression?

As we explore the purpose and reality of these checkpoints, it is essential to remember that true security serves the people—not burdens them.

Officially, checkpoints are meant to prevent crime, protect against potential security threats, and gather intelligence. Ideally, they deter robbery, smuggling, kidnapping, and other criminal acts.

But here, as they say, "a knife meant for peeling yam shouldn’t be used to dig the earth." The role of law enforcement is not just to protect property but to serve the dignity of all citizens. 

When security begins to erode that dignity, something is gravely amiss.

For Biafra people traveling along major routes like the road stretching from Awka in Anambra to Ugwoba in Enugu, what should be an open highway has become a maze of military and police checkpoints. 

Here, one encounters over 30 checkpoints within a mere three kilometers—a staggering number by any measure. Instead of security, these checkpoints often serve as toll booths, where motorists are obligated to part with cash under duress.

A common Biafra adage goes, “He who is cursed with a stubborn child will carry him until his back breaks.” For these travelers, the burden of these checkpoints feels much like that—a relentless load, forced upon them without choice. 

Crimes such as car theft and kidnapping persist mere meters away from these checkpoints, raising serious questions about the purpose they truly serve. 

At many of these stops, security personnel impose a particularly dehumanizing routine: vehicles are halted, and passengers, including the elderly and sick, are commanded to exit and walk on foot across the checkpoints, regardless of their physical condition. 

The indignity of this experience weighs heavily on the people’s spirits. In the face of these conditions, it’s hard to ignore another adage: “When the hawk guards the chicks, peace flies away.”

This enforced routine—where the elderly and unwell are compelled to trudge in pain past heavily armed officers—stands as a stark symbol of neglect. With each step, citizens are reminded that their well-being is less important than a token gesture towards security.

Despite the theater of stopping vehicles and making passengers walk, these checkpoints seldom include thorough searches. If the real goal were to prevent crime or secure the region, why then are security checks so superficial? 

This laxity leaves room for dangerous items to pass unchallenged, exacerbating insecurity in the very areas these checkpoints are meant to protect.

 

What was once Nigeria’s most peaceful region now suffers under the weight of pervasive extortion and unchecked criminality. The people of the southeast, known for their resilience and determination, find themselves trapped between economic hardship and a system meant to protect them but which has instead become a menace.

 

More revelations will come to light as this investigation continues. But for now, the burden falls on each of us to ask: is this truly what security should look like? After all, “He who carries the burden knows where it weighs the heaviest.”

Stay with us as we continue this series, unmasking the realities behind these checkpoints and amplifying the voices of those who must endure them daily.

Family Writers Press International.