Nigerians have taken to social media to express outrage over alleged extortion by police officers on major highways. Despite warnings from the Force Headquarters, victims claim that officers are still mounting checkpoints and conducting stop-and-search operations to extort travelers.
Victims shared their experiences on , including being forced to pay bribes at every checkpoint and facing harassment and assault for refusing to comply. The allegations highlight the ongoing issue of police extortion on Nigerian highways, with many calling for a complete overhaul of the system.
The extortion is mindless.
“They are reckless in extorting motorists. Our vehicle dropped money at every checkpoint or you risk being parked for a long time,” @grandmaster-01 wrote.
A serving member of the National Youth Service Corps, using the handle @Kingmanuel700 on X.com, recounted a similar experience while sharing a receipt of the money allegedly extorted by policemen at Okpella in Edo State.
He lamented that his complaints had been disregarded despite persistent efforts to seek redress.
The victim tweeted, “Help me tag @Princemoye1. I still got extorted too, because I was a victim even when I showed them my NYSC identification card.”
Describing police extortion on major Nigerian highways as “a cankerworm that has deeply infected the police system,” @PMalarchy accused some officers of assaulting an elderly man for refusing to pay the N100 they had demanded from him.
“One of their men slapped a driver of about 60 years the other day because he (the driver) gave him (the policeman) N100 and was parked when he protested; the policeman slapped the old man,” @PMalarchy wrote.
The Force Headquarters’ Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, has urged travelers to refuse payment demands and support efforts to curb the menace. However, victims argue that more needs to be done to address the problem.