Intersociety reports that police and military extorted ₦21.8 billion during roadblocks in the south-east in two months.
The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) accused police and military personnel of extorting ₦21.8 billion from checkpoints in the South-East geopolitical zone over two months.
According to Intersociety Chairman Emeka Umeagbalasi, the police allegedly collected ₦15 billion, while the military netted ₦6.8 billion from December 2024 to January 2025.
Umeagbalasi cited the Uga Junction and Atani Road Naval checks in Onitsha, Anambra State, as the “most lucrative,” purportedly producing over ₦600 million through extortion at gunpoint.
According to Umeagbalasi, “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 data indicated at least 300 direct military roadblocks and 500 patrol teams in the region, with 98% engaged in extortion. Each military roadblock reportedly received an average of ₦100,000 day, totalling ₦80 million daily or ₦2.4 billion monthly.
Over a two-month period, police personnel at 2,500 roadblocks in the region allegedly earned an average of ₦10.5 billion, including ₦3.5 billion from barracks extortions and an additional ₦1 billion from 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 stated that the acts violated Section 108 of the Armed Forces Act, which mandates a 14-year prison sentence for military personnel involved in extortion, and Section 99 of the Criminal Code Act, which criminalises police roadblock extortion with penalties of up to seven years in prison.
He asked the government to take quick action to stop these unethical activities, enforce existing laws, and hold those responsible accountable.
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