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Chidi Obineche
The socio- economic hardship experienced in Nigeria since March 28, 2018 when the federal government placed a comprehensive lockdown to contain the raging COVID- 19 pandemic may have forced the authorities to ease it about three weeks ago. However, the lockdowns at state boundaries have remained intact, spewing unsavoury tales.
Daily Sun embarked on “On the Spot” assessment of the situation at the various state borders. Reports from the various interstate borders are varying in scope and disturbing.
Lagos/ Ogun borders
Odogunyan/ Ogijo border point.
Situated along the Ikorodu- Shagamu federal highway, the border point is manned by armed police and vigilante security officials. At the time of the visit,( Monday, June 15) about 12 of them comprising 10 regular policemen and two vigilante men were spotted on sentry duties, stopping and inspecting vehicles and passengers traversing through both ends.
The barricade, consisting of logs of wood and other heavy metals left a single freeway for on-coming and on-going vehicles. With light scrutiny of the vehicles and the contents, traffic gridlock remained minimal, while pedestrians freely strode around. Motorcyclists,( Okada riders) avoided the barricade, preferring to use a street( Odukoya) which leads to the road behind the cordon, thereby effectively cutting the barricade off.
The security men at the barricade wore a visage of stress soaked with tension. With a keen consciousness of their surroundings, their eyes dart about every now and then, picking breaking incidents and other small details.
Wearing the veil of under – cover reporters, I engaged the leader of the security team, an Inspector of police, Kayode Odunsi in a friendly conversation. He agreed that the lockdown has eased and that their prime pre-occupation there was in line with core traditional police duties of checking security breaches. He declined to field questions on odd tales emanating from these border lockdowns and if they have had to contend with any. He hurried off dismissively into their standby Toyota Hilux van, but without a hint of suspicion.
Fiasco, arrest at the Ogun State end
About 500 meters from the Lagos end of the border is the Ogun state border point. A complement of 6 policemen and two Vigilante security officers manned the post. Daily Sun engaged some shop owners and sundry tradesmen in the vicinity in conversations over engagements and operations at the lockdown post. It was observed that most of the commercial vehicles by- passed the border barricade and plied a side street known as Adekoya , adjacent to Ita- Oluwa sawmill.
The street is estimated to be about a few hundred meters from the Lagos end of the lockdown barricade and about the same meters behind the Ogun end. Normal business and human activities also thrive around the barricade. The barricade retains the character of a normal every day police checkpoint.
A shop owner within the vicinity, Maurice Okonkwo, however told Daily Sun that the present situation is a far cry from what it was about three weeks ago, before the ease of the nationwide lockdown by the federal government.
He said: “If you were here about three weeks ago, you would have seen a different picture. The traffic gridlock stretched from here to several kilometers back. Extortion by the security men was the order of the day. In fact, you will not be allowed to pass unless you part with a minimum of five hundred Naira.
Okada people made brisk business as they ferried people through the streets to the opposite ends where they will board waiting commercial vehicles back to either Lagos or Shagamu. Many commercial vehicles disgorged their passengers several meters to the lockdown post, and the passengers would in turn either trek across or take Okada through the streets. We were not even allowed to open for business, but some of us use to hang around our shops.
Customers who came were discreetly served with a little opening of our doors to fetch the required item”. Those of us who were caught paid between five thousand to ten thousand Naira (N5,000 – N10,000) to secure their freedom, depending on the severity of the case and their bargaining power.
While on the banters with the shop owners, my colleague was detailed to take quick snapshots of the environment. Unknown to us, the policemen here had since spotted us and were suspicious of our presence. As we later learnt, they kept a keen eye on us and monitored to the minutest details our every move.
As I chatted away animatedly with the news sources, they struck unexpectedly. About three of them swooped on us seizing my colleague’s phone and marched us off to their van to meet their boss- Kingsley Amadi, an inspector. I attempted putting on the cloak of a visitor to the area who was only flexing with my friends, but stopped in my tracks when I realized that it was not going to cut any ice with them. At this point, I introduced myself and my colleague to them and on demand showed them my Identity card. I insisted we were mere wayfarers who were seeking proper direction to a mechanic workshop.
They summarily accused us of being on a mission of espionage and threatened to visit us with the full wrath of the law. They invited some of their colleagues that are IC T savvy to securitize the phone. My colleague had smartly deleted all incriminating pictures within seconds and locked it with a password before they pounced on it.
She was invited to open it, and she did, promptly. Only two innocuous pictures portraying barricade objects, the light traffic snarl, and their van were found. Yet, they insisted on taking us to the station, threatening heavy consequences for our action. When all explanations fell on deaf ears, I pleaded with them to allow me follow them in my car, but they refused, and forcefully shoved us into their van, sandwiched.
At the Police Station
Arriving at the station, we discovered that all the police personnel there had been placed on alert and were already expecting us. I was blocked from seeing the Divisional Police Officer, DPO. A senior police officer, who is the second in command in the crime office, took charge immediately.
He took us to the charge room and ordered us to write statements. I feigned to have forgotten something in the van and carefully called our Managing Director, Onuoha Ukeh and told him of the ordeal. Before then, I had surreptitiously called Chris Oji, who is in charge of our crime desk, who urged us to follow them to the station promising to contact the Ogun State commissioner of police.
As I deliberately wrote the statement sluggishly, one of the policemen derisively chided me for not knowing what to write. “You claim to be a journalist, but you can’t write simple statement in English. Criminal.” Just then,Oji called back to appraise the situation and told me he had already contacted the commissioner who asked him to tell me to call him.
He sent the commissioner’s cell phone number. I called him immediately and he visibly was livid with anger. He asked me to give the phone to the DPO or the nearest person to me in the charge room. I gave the phone to the officer nearest to me and he immediately scurried off to the DPO’s office. I followed in tow.
The DPO, Babatunde Mohammed, a Chief Superintendent, immediately after speaking with the commissioner ordered that those who arrested us should be brought to his office. In commando style, they all showed up almost immediately. They spurned bare – faced lies against us, including saying that we resisted arrest, and that there were incriminating evidence in the phone that we came on a mission to spy on them.
The DPO expressed disgust that a case of that magnitude was brought to the station and the suspects about to be charged without his knowledge.
He ordered all of them out of his office and proceeded to apologize to us profusely. He demanded for my call card and asked me to call the commissioner in his presence and tell him that he had complied with his order to release us. I did. He offered some logistics to take us back to the point of arrest to retrieve my car. Case closed. He called again on my way home to plead for a fair representation of the encounter in The Sun.
Lagos/ Ogun border – Itoikin/ Idanre lockdown point
The following day, 16/06, we proceeded to the Itoikin/ Idanre lockdown border along the heavily collapsed Ikorodu – Ijebu Ode federal highway. A journey that would have ordinarily taken not more than one and half hours from the take off point, took more than four hours because of the dilapidated state of the road. Vehicular traffic at this border point was light, apparently because of the crater- ridden condition of the road.
There were about 30 security men comprising policemen, soldiers and vigilante officials spotting all green combat attire. The barricade was also light. The location of the border lockdown post was in a semi- arid area flanked by withering bushes.
On approach, I was flagged down, and asked to park very well and alight from the vehicle. I was taken to a bulky dark complexioned police officer sitting in their van, whom they referred to as “Oga”. After greetings, he demanded to know my mission to the place. With the desolate nature of the place, I told him we were just passing through to Ijebu Ode. He asked to know if I was not aware that interstate travel is prohibited.
I responded that I was on essential duty, whipping out my Identity card to show him. He examined it peremptorily, returned it and urged his men to open the barricade for us to pass. Before leaving, I observed that a few heavy trucks, laden with goods had lined up to be attended to. I moved away into a small shouting distance and stopped. I stepped down from the car pretending to be easing myself by the side of the road and watched with my “corner eyes” as each of them parted with Naira notes which looked like 500 Naira denomination. The same experience replicated at the Ogun end of the barricade.
It was a mixture of policemen and vigilante security officials. No civilian was seen within and around the vicinity. No mobile clinic, doctors/ nurses were seen with screening equipment. No vehicles were turned back. Most of the motorists were not wearing Face –masks.
To be continued next week
