According to a recent analysis by Saviour Akpan, Esq., police and other security checkpoints across Nigeria have devolved into widespread extortion points, fundamentally abusing the constitutional right to freedom of movement.
Despite clear directives banning such barricades on the roads, the checkpoints now function as illegal “toll gates” rather than security measures, the activist claims.
In a detailed commentary on “Curbing the Disturbing Response to Justice and Security Sectors Welfare,” Akpan, the Executive Director of COMPPART Foundation for Justice and Peacebuilding, highlighted that officers deployed to these roadblocks routinely compel motorists to “settle” or face severe harassment, brutality, and in some cases, death. He said this practice effectively reduces law enforcement’s function to a “revenue-collection enterprise,” a clear betrayal of their mandated duty to maintain security.
The rights activist asserts that this practice is a gross abuse of Section 41 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of movement for all citizens. Rather than ensuring safety, according to him, the checkpoints now impose an unlawful financial barrier, making legitimate travel conditional on payment.
The commercialisation of security, alongside the unlawful fees for bail and reporting cases, and the availability of ‘police for hire,’ has severely damaged public confidence. Saviour Akpan notes that instead of seeing protectors, citizens are now compelled to view their justice and security institutions as predators.
While acknowledging that poor welfare, including meagre salaries and inadequate housing, often drives security personnel to seek “survival strategies,” Akpan firmly states that this is not an excuse. He argues that just as a judge cannot sell justice, a poorly paid security officer cannot be permitted to commercialise protection.
To curb this disturbing trend and rebuild public confidence, Akpan advocates for immediate and periodic welfare reform for security personnel, alongside the strict enforcement of accountability mechanisms and the criminalisation of all illegal levies. The goal, he concludes, is to achieve a security sector that serves the law, not one that sells it.
