BY GODWIN OBI
A storm is brewing along the Seme–ECOWAS corridor as police authorities, customs officials, and border community leaders clash over the increasing number of checkpoints choking the vital trade route.
While the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) insists that the roadblocks are essential for national security, local leaders and traders are fuming — alleging that the proliferation of checkpoints has turned the corridor into a goldmine for extortion and a nightmare for businesses.
At a tense stakeholders’ meeting held last week at the Seme-Krake border, community representatives accused security agencies of turning routine patrols into a cash-collection racket.
Alhaji Yusuf Bashir Mohammed, a member of the Community Development Committee of Badagry West LCDA, decried the unending roadblocks that have crippled commerce and daily life.
“At Oloko alone, there are about three to four police checkpoints clustered together — all stopping the same vehicles and collecting money from drivers. At night, it gets worse. This is killing our businesses and driving away tourists,” he lamented.
He warned that if the situation persists, frustration among unemployed youths in the area could spark unrest.
According to Mohammed, residents have endured years of infrastructural neglect despite the heavy security presence. “For seven years, we have had no electricity. Our transformers are vandalised under the watch of these checkpoints. Even our women face harassment by some officers,” he said. “Every meeting ends the same way — empty promises and more checkpoints.”
The community, he added, is now preparing to stage a mass protest against what he described as “institutional extortion and economic suffocation.”
Responding, Superintendent of Police Musa Noleda, Commander of the Inspector-General of Police Special Task Force on Petroleum and Illegal Bunkering (IGP-STFPIB) in Lagos Mainland/Badagry, defended the heavy police presence.
According to him, the checkpoints are manned by specialized units, including the Explosives Ordinance Disposal (EOD) and Border Patrol, to ensure national security and prevent cross-border crimes.
“We are not here to extort. That is not our mandate. The checkpoints are a proactive measure to safeguard lives, property, and border communities,” Noleda asserted.
But the explanation did little to calm nerves.
The newly deployed Customs Area Controller for the Seme Command, Comptroller Adewale Adenuga, countered the police stance, revealing that the Comptroller-General of Customs had ordered a drastic reduction of checkpoints along the corridor.
“Only two checkpoints — Gbaji and Agbara — are officially approved. Any other Customs officers seen along the route are on patrol, not stationed,” Adenuga clarified.
He urged the public and media to report illegal roadblocks, warning that some “unscrupulous elements” might be exploiting the situation for personal gain.
Adding a note of reform, Capt. H.I. Medugu of the Nigerian Air Force, Badagry base, disclosed that CCTV systems have been installed at Air Force-manned checkpoints to enhance transparency.
“We must align with President Tinubu’s vision for efficient border management and seamless trade,” Medugu said.
As the debate rages, the Seme corridor — once Nigeria’s busiest trade gateway to West Africa — remains gridlocked by controversy, frustration, and fear.
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