House of Representatives on Thursday, December 16, 2021, urged the security agencies to remove their multiple checkpoints on the roads leading to and from Lagos and Abuja to the South East region forthwith to facilitate free flow of traffic, relief the pains and hardship of the motorists and other road users travelling to and from the South East region, especially during the festive period.
The House also mandated the Nigerian Police Force and related agencies to immediately disband all checkpoint at the Onitsha head bridge in Anambra State and equally mandated the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC to deploy men and materials fo ensure free flow of traffic between Asaba and Onitsha.
The House called for collaboration among the security agencies to collaborate in the discharge of their responsibilities to avoid dissipation of resources as exemplified by the multiple checkpoints on the roads especially those leading to and from the South East region.
The resolution came on the heels of a motion titled “Motion for the Disbandment on Multiple Security Checkpoints on Roads Leading to the South East Region” by Hon. Obinna Chidioka representing Idemili North and South Federal Constituency of Anambra State at Thursday plenary.
Moving the motion, Chidioka decried multiple checkouts involving all the notable security agencies in the country on the south east roads.
“Multiple checkpoints involving the Nigerian Police Force, the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Customs Service, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and the Federal Road Safety Corps etc, have dotted our roads, particularly the roads leading to the South East States from Lagos and Abuja with used tires, timber and metal barricades resulting in avoidable traffic buildup on the roads and untold hardship to motorists and other road users, especially during festive periods.
“At last count, the road blocks involving these security agencies between Lagos and Onitsha are an alarming 60 checkpoints, with 24 between llisan and Orilewo, 25 between Ore and Ugoneki, and 11 between Abudu and Onitsha Bridge head.
“These checkpoints constitute themselves into tollgates extorting money from innocent motorists while the crimes they are meant to checkmate still go on without remedy.
“These multiple makeshift checkpoints, coupled with the terrible condition of roads in question cause unnecessary traffic buildup on the roads with untold hardship on road users and creating room for criminals to perpetrate their nefarious activities.
“These checkpoints set up with used tires, timber and metal barricades are often left on the roads and highways, when not in use, thereby creating hazards for unsuspecting motorists, especially at night thereby causing accidents, and in some cases, used by armed robbers who rob and terrorizes road users at odd hours.
“Issues of the hardship suffered by motorists and other road users as a result of multiple checkpoints on the roads have been recurring over the years with no visible remedy by the authorities concerned especially with the peculiarity of this to roads leading to the South East.
“The Christmas and New Year holidays are ahead of us and movement on these roads increase exponentially with citizens travelling to celebrate with their loved ones in their villages.
“Less than 10 days to Christmas the Asaba end of the Head Bridge is already blocked with check points constituting terror and nuisance to motorists causing motorists who flew one hour to Asaba or drove 5 to 6 hours from Lagos and Abuja to spend upwards of 7 hours just to cross the Niger Bridge
“Address the plight of motorists and other road users on these roads who suffer daily from the avoidable and clearly unnecessary multiple checkpoints and which has caused untold hardship to all and to save lives.”
Adopting the motion, the directed the Federal Ministry of Works and Power and the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency 10 remove all abandoned makeshift roadblocks used as checkpoints and debris from the roads and highways to facilitate free flow of traffic on these roads.
It also called on the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC to position ambulances at major intersections along the roads and highways especially during this festive season to provide first aid to accident victims and evacuate them to the hospitals.
Source: Vanguard
