PAMELA EBOH, Awka
The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety ), has described Onitsha Bridgehead and environs in Anambra State as the most notorious for sundry corrupt practices and brutalities by the military, Police, Para-military and private extortionists.
This was contained in the group’s 2024 reports on South East and South South of Nigeria authored by the Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT), Emeka Umeagbalasi and other members of the the civil society group.
The 110-page report tagged: Nigeria: “Ocean of Innocent Blood Flowing in the East “, reeled out the areas known for corrupt extortions and brutalities to include, Uga Street Junction, Atani Road junction, Ogbogwu(Drug) Market market/Tools and Allied Market Junction, Niger Bridge to Electronics Market/defunct Premier axis along Asaba-Enugu Expressway.
The report read in part, “Those involved in the extortions and brutalities are various Police Divisions in the area, Bridgehead, Fegge Division, Okpoko Police Division, Harbour Industrial Estate Division, Onitsha Central Police Division as well as officers and personnel of Nigerian Navy in Ogbaru manning Atani Road Junction Naval Checkpoint.
“The mode of operation for the Police operating at the Service Lane along Asaba-Onitsha Express is to patrol the place with hired vehicles especially buses and tricycles hunting for traders carrying cartons of drugs whether legit or illicit.
“These policemen are equally recruited to escort traders carrying cartons of goods, suspected to be illicit tramadol, codeine or other related drugs. Some of the Policemen are procured by unscrupulous traders “to waybill illicit drugs or provide security during offloading of their containers”.
“The officers and men of Nigerian Navy stationed at Atani Road/Uga Junction, as well as their counterparts from 63 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Asaba, Delta State end of Niger Bridgehead, are not left out in the extortions.”
According to Intersociety, the Military personnel and Policemen create artificial traffic gridlocks at both sides of Onitsha and Asaba ends of the bridge to allow them to carry out their extortion of road users as they want.
The group noted that the amount collected from vehicles that ply the bridge vary according to the sizes, saying that trucks and their likes pay between N3,000 to N5000 in each of the checkpoints, while 911 lorry, pay between N2,000 to 5,000, and trailer, N5,000 to N10,000.
It also revealed that 20/40ft container truck pay between N5,000 to N10,000 and tanker load of oil and gas,N5,000 to N10,000.
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