Each day, as the cocks crow and engines roar to life, most commercial road users in Lagos State hit the road in search of a living. But, beneath the familiar echoes of early-morning movement lies a growing concern for many of them: six checkpoints mounted along their route by personnel of the State Police Command, particularly those from Adolf Police Station, Iba.
Their concern is not about legitimate scrutiny, nor are most of them afraid of being stopped for incomplete or invalid vehicle documents. Rather, it is the extortion they encounter repeatedly at the checkpoints, turning their daily journeys into a routine of illegal financial demands.
The drivers say they are routinely compelled to pay N200 at each checkpoint, regardless of whether they have committed any offence. Those who refuse to pay claim that officers delay them, scrutinise their vehicle documents or threaten to take them to the station, Politics Nigeria reports.
LASU-Igando Road: A Vital Route for Residents
The LASU-Igando Road, also known as LASU-Isheri Road, connects communities in Ojo and Alimosho local government areas of Lagos State. It is a major arterial road that links to the Lagos-Badagry Expressway. The road serves students of Lagos State University (LASU) who live off campus, particularly those residing in Igando, Akesan, Obadore, Iba and neighbouring communities.
The road also serves traders, artisans, business owners, civil servants and other residents who depend on it for their daily movement.
However, commercial drivers who ply the route say the concentration of police checkpoints has become a source of concern, particularly because of the compulsory payments demanded from them. It was gathered that the six checkpoints along the road are all situated within a stretch of approximately eight kilometres.
For Chukwuebuka Onwuka, a commercial driver who has operated along the route since 2022, the checkpoints have become a daily financial burden.
“Only in this area, we have six checkpoints,” Onwuka told our reporter.
He identified locations around Agboroko, NNPC Bus Stop, Iba Junction, before Obadore bridge (both sides of the road) and immediately after the bridge as some of the places where officers collect money.
According to him, the payments have increased over the years.
“When I started, we were paying N50 at each checkpoint. Later, they increased it to N100. Now they have increased it to N200. Maybe next year, they will increase it to N300,” he said.
Onwuka said the payments were not limited to one period of the day. He described two periods of duch activity, beginning early in the morning and resuming in the afternoon.
He added that officers of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) also operated around the bridge and other checkpoints in the evening, between approximately 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.
According to him, the operations continued every day of the week Sunday inclusive.
“We are paying N3,600 to them every day,” he said, describing the financial burden on commercial drivers operating in the area.
‘If You Don’t Want to Pay, You Will Have a Problem’
Onwuka alleged that drivers who refuse to hand over the money are subjected to delays, even when their vehicle documents are complete.
“Now, it is by force. If you don’t want to pay, you will have a problem,” he said.
He explained that officers could demand vehicle documents and keep drivers waiting, forcing them to choose between paying the money and losing valuable time.
“They will delay you. They will check your papers and make sure they are complete. Even when your papers are complete, like mine, they will still delay you,” he said.
For drivers who depend on daily earnings, such delays can affect their ability to transport passengers and make enough money to meet their financial obligations.
Onwuka said the situation had become so frustrating that some drivers were considering abandoning commercial driving.
“Many of us even want to put our vehicles up for sale because we are tired. We are working for them. All of us are family people. We cannot feed our families because we carry vehicles on that road,” he said.
He also alleged that officers sometimes demanded substantial sums to release impounded vehicles.
According to him, he once paid N136,000 to retrieve his vehicle from a task force office, although he maintained that he had committed no offence.
He further alleged that motorists could be made to pay between N200,000 and N300,000 to recover their vehicles in some circumstances.
Our reporter could not independently verify these specific allegations.
Drivers Pay Even When Their Documents Are Complete
Another commercial driver, who identified himself as Frank, said he had experienced similar treatment despite possessing the documents required to operate his vehicle.
He listed his Lagos State driver’s licence, driver’s badge, vehicle licence, roadworthiness certificate, ticket permit and other relevant documents as evidence that he was authorised to operate.
According to him, when he questioned why he was being asked to pay, officers directed him to park and presented him with demands that he found difficult to justify.
“I brought out everything and gave them. They would flip through the documents, and after flipping through them, they would hold on to the papers. Then they would say I could go,” he said.
Frank said drivers often paid to avoid prolonged delays and inconveniencing their passengers.
“But, sincerely speaking, there is no need for these roadblocks,” he added.
He said the practice extended beyond morning operations, alleging that officers returned in the afternoon to collect the same amount from commercial drivers.
“They come back again around 4:00 or 4:30 p.m. and still demand the same money they collected in the morning,” he said.
Frank argued that voluntarily giving officers money to appreciate their work was different from being compelled to pay at a checkpoint.
“If it is N200 that I give to a patrol van, I can say, ‘Buy water.’ I can give it to them openly because it is not a bribe. I have my documents and my papers are complete,” he said.
“But you don’t bend my hand to collect it.”
He also expressed concern about what he described as the excessive number of checkpoints within the area.
“From here to that bridge, there are five checkpoints. They are too close,” he said.
Frank, however, acknowledged that not all police officers were involved in the alleged misconduct.
“I’m not saying they are all bad. The good ones are protecting me. But the experience is bad,” he said.
Tricycle Operators Also Affected
The complaints extend beyond commercial bus drivers to tricycle operators who also ply the road.
Azubuike Chima Matthew, a tricycle rider who said he had worked in the area for 10 years, alleged that operators were also required to pay N200 at police checkpoints.
According to him, refusing to pay could result in an allegation being made against a rider, followed by a threat of arrest or a demand for money.
“They will park you there. They will just find an allegation and lay it on you. Then they will take you to the station and tell you to pay N10,000,” Matthew said.
He alleged that officers also demanded between N5,000 and N10,000 from riders over minor incidents, including stopping to drop off passengers at certain locations.
Matthew said he had previously paid between N15,000 and N17,000 after stopping to allow a passenger to alight near a bridge.
When asked about evidence, he stated that such payments were not accompanied by receipts.
“No, they don’t give any receipt. You just pay,” he said.
For Matthew, the cumulative cost of operating a commercial tricycle has made the work increasingly difficult.
He said operators already paid daily charges of more than N3,000 to agbero, or transport touts, in addition to the money allegedly demanded at police checkpoints.
“If I were somebody who had enough money, I would have left the work since. But I don’t have anything else to do now. This is my own work,” he said.
Matthew said the situation had continued despite complaints by affected operators.
“We have complained, but nobody has done anything. Nobody has done anything about it,” he added.
‘Every day, you pay in the morning and in the evening’
Joshua Clovis, another road user, said the number of checkpoints had increased significantly over the past four years.
According to him, what was previously a single checkpoint had grown into several stops along the route.
“There are too many checkpoints. All of them are from the same station,” Clovis said.
He added that commercial drivers were expected to pay in the morning and again in the evening.
“Once you pay in the morning at those checkpoints, you also pay in the evening every day,” he said.
Clovis said some drivers were considering petitioning the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) over the situation, although he could not confirm whether the station’s leadership was aware of the alleged activities.
Olaolu Oyebode, a commercial driver who said he had plied the road for more than 10 years, also described the payments as a persistent problem.
Oyebode said drivers who refused to pay could be asked to produce their vehicle documents and, in some cases, face demands for additional money.
“If you refuse to give them, they will ask you to park and ask for your papers. If you don’t have complete papers, you either pay N10,000 before you are free,” he said.
He alleged that even drivers with the required documents could be delayed or threatened.
Oyebode recounted an incident in which he said he was asked to produce his driver’s licence after the N200 he was about to hand to an officer fell to the ground.
Although he maintained that the document was in his vehicle, he said he could not immediately locate it and paid N3,000 before he was allowed to leave.
He subsequently showed the reporter his driver’s licence.
Oyebode also alleged that the amount demanded at the checkpoints increased from N100 to N200 in 2025.
In another incident, he said his conductor had handed an officer N500 at a checkpoint, expecting N300 in change after making a N200 payment.
According to him, the officer initially refused to return the balance, which was eventually released after repeated pleas.
Drivers Question Security Purpose of Multiple Checkpoints
Beyond the financial demands, some drivers questioned whether the number of checkpoints was necessary for security purposes.
Onwuka said he had not personally experienced an armed robbery attack along the route and questioned the need for so many police stops within a short distance.
He alleged that the checkpoints had multiplied as officers occupied more locations along the corridor.
Frank similarly argued that a single checkpoint might be sufficient, given the proximity of the existing stops.
However, the drivers’ concerns went beyond the number of checkpoints. They said they wanted the police to perform their legitimate security duties without subjecting commercial operators to compulsory payments.
Previous IGP Directives Against Illegal Checkpoints
The allegations along the LASU-Igando Road come despite previous directives by successive Inspectors-General of Police against illegal checkpoints and extortion.
In April 2021, then Acting Inspector-General of Police Alkali Baba Usman included the dismantling of roadblocks and the withdrawal of officers attached to private citizens among the measures outlined in his 12-point agenda for the Nigeria Police Force.
In September 2023, then Acting Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, directed commissioners of police across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to remove non-security checkpoints within their areas of responsibility.
Egbetokun said the directive was intended to promote accountability and transparency within the Force.
In April 2026, Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, also directed commissioners of police nationwide to end extortion, illegal checkpoints, harassment of citizens and other forms of misconduct.
The directive specifically prohibited the routine collection of money from motorists on highways and the operation of unauthorised checkpoints. It also addressed the practice of arresting citizens and compelling them to withdraw money from Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) or Point of Sale (PoS) devices.
Despite these directives, the drivers, who spoke to our reporter, alleged that unofficial collections continued along the LASU-Igando corridor.
Their accounts raise questions about the implementation of police directives at the local level and the mechanisms available to motorists seeking redress.
‘They Should Stand for Their Rights’ – Police
When contacted, the State Police Command spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi, had yet to respond to the message sent to her at the time of filing this report.
The Police Command’s Complaint Response Unit (CRU), however, assured our reporter that action would be taken regarding the allegations on the LASU-Igando road.
Similarly, the DPO of Iba division, CSP Talabi Segun, urged drivers to stop making unofficial payments and report officers allegedly involved in the practice.
“They should top giving the officers money. They should stand for their rights. Most of them are literates. They should come and report to the DPO. The DPO can’t be everywhere. Tell the drivers to come to me to point out the officers,” he said.
On the complaints about the number of checkpoints, the DPO said the police presence was necessary because of security concerns in the university environment.
“This is a university environment. We had cases of bags snatching from the students,” he said.
He described the complaints about checkpoints as a possible strategy by criminals, arguing that residents also complained about security incidents when police officers were not visible on the road.
“When the police are not on the road, people complain about several security incidents around the area. Now that the police are there, they are also complaining. It is a strategy of the bad boys,” he said.