The House of Representatives, yesterday, mandated the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba to dismantle multiple checkpoints on highways across the country.
It asked the police chief to direct the commissioner of police in Anambra State to review the location of a police checkpoint sandwiched between two fuel stations on the Onitcha-Owerri expressway.
According to the house, the measure would forestall accidents and other disasters on the highways, especially during the festive season.
Representative of Ihiala Federal Constituency in the House, Ifeanyi Momah, who drew attention to the issue pursuant to Order Eight, Rule Four under matters of urgent public importance during plenary, lamented the constant loss of lives on the nation’s highways.
The lawmaker stated that for over two years, military and police check points have been operational to quell insecurity in the area
“But road users have since been subjected to devastating, degrading and inhumane treatment occasioned by the operations of the military and police checkpoints in the area.
“Being a major expressway, the negative impact of checkpoints has been grave on the community and road users. No one is spared from the menace, as people are usually forced to alight from vehicles, raise their hands top pass through the checkpoints,” he said.
Momah, who argued that under normal circumstances, the military checkpoints were to be stationed at border communities and not city centres, later briefed the press corps on the difficulty being faced by the people on the highways, especially in the South East.
He said the town leaders have also asked that the checkpoints should be relocated to mitigate the consequences of the current situation.
On Saturday, May 30, 2020, a police makeshift road blockage caused a fatal accident at Ihiala, which led to the death of a trailer driver, his conductor and no fewer than 10 passengers in a bus.
The most recent fatality on the road was on Saturday, November 28, 2021 in which a trailer carrying goods ran over 20 persons, who died on the spot.
The House, therefore, mandated its Committee on Police Affairs and Legislative Compliance to ensure compliance.
