Commuters Groan Due To Traffic Gridlocks Caused By Police Roadblocks On Anambra Highways

By Chuks Eke

Commuters passing through various highways in Anambra State, particularly along the Onitsha/Owerri dual carriageway, say they are suffering from heavy traffic gridlock caused by police and military roadblocks.

The Obosi by-pass under the newly completed second Niger Bridge flyover, the Ozubulu Police Area Command Headquarters, the Ekwusigo Local Government Area Headquarters in Ozubulu, and the Okija junction on the Onitsha-Owerri dual carriageway are all heavily congested.

Speaking to reporters about the unfortunate development, Chief Gilbert Bravo Obi, a concerned citizen and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Importers Association of Nigeria, IAN, urged police authorities in Anambra State to immediately dispatch senior police officers to monitor the activities of their subordinates at these roadblocks.

Obi lamented that the negative consequences of these policemen’s commando-style at roadblocks have become so inexplicable that law-abiding commuters are no longer comfortable with their presence on highways.

Obi insisted that how these policemen block both sides of motorways with condemned motor tyres and drums, leaving only a small space for them to mount centre and begin flagging down every oncoming vehicle, leaves much to be desired.

He said that by doing so, while the policemen would be demanding one thing or the other from each of the drivers passing through the roadblock, the gridlock would build uptown two miles or more.

He suggested that if police officers suspect a vehicle, they should order the driver to clear the road for searching while others continue their journey, rather than wasting commuters’ time and shamelessly and unnecessarily tarnishing the police force’s image and reputation, which the hierarchy had painstakingly built over time.

“People are not against police checkpoints or roadblocks on our highways because of our time’s security challenges, but rather against the policemen’s lax attitude, which usually causes heavy gridlocks and puts law-abiding commuters through unnecessary hardships,” Bravo said.

Reacting to the development, the state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, told newsmen on the phone yesterday that he would reach out to the command monitoring unit to intensify efforts towards arresting the situation.