Motorists plying Kaduna-Kano and Kaduna-Abuja highways have expressed relief after the Kaduna State government on Monday ordered that all roadblocks at the state boundaries be dismantled following what it claimed was “persistent extortion of vehicles conveying essential goods by some security officials.”
The state government had however, insisted that only roadblocks mounted to enforce the 8pm – 5 am curfew will remain.
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Checks by Daily Trust showed that most roadblocks have been dismantled except for the security attached with mobile courts that prosecute those who do not comply with the compulsory face mask order, as well as drivers that breach the ban on inter-state travels.
A commercial driver, Abubakar Kagarko, said he was happy with the directive of the state government, adding that the experience of commercial motorists with security agents had been unpleasant in the last few months.
“It’s been a rough experience due to the extortion that occured daily and the brutal way of enforcing it by security agents. If you were travelling to Abuja, at the tollgate before Gonin Gora, security operatives will ask you to stop and they will extort N500 from you and if you don’t pay, they can break your windscreen,” he said.
Attempt to get the reaction of the police on the new directive failed as Kaduna State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mohammed Jalige, did not answer calls to his phone.
However, some police officers who spoke to our correspondents said they were equally relieved by the order, adding that despite making sacrifices to enforce the ban on inter-state travels, it will appear that their efforts were not been appreciated.
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