A prominent civil society organization, the Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy and Development (FENRAD), has accused security agencies of running a massive, informal tax network across Nigeria’s South East, extorting an estimated N1.3 trillion annually from motorists and commuters.

“Investigations suggest that illegal roadside collections across Nigeria may exceed N1.3 trillion annually, with a significant portion linked to checkpoint operations in the South East,” said Comrade Nelson Nnanna Nwafor, Executive Director of FENRAD.

FENRAD identified approximately 200 checkpoints manned by police, military, and other federal security operatives across Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States.

Motorists traveling on routes like the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway or Owerri-Onitsha Road encounter between 25 and 40 checkpoints, paying illegal levies ranging from N100 to N5,000.

The group cited human rights abuses, including illegal detention, arbitrary searches, and intimidation, violating the Nigerian Constitution and the Nigeria Police Act 2020.

FENRAD criticized the South East Governors’ Forum for its “continued silence and inaction”, urging them to demand reforms.

FENRAD demands include: Immediate audit and dismantling of illegal checkpoints, shift to intelligence driven policing, deployment of body cameras and digital accountability tools, and severe disciplinary measures against officers guilty of extortion.

“The South East cannot continue to function as a region where citizens must pay illegal tolls to move from one community to another. Security checkpoints must not become cash points,” Nwafor stressed.