Security personnel are increasingly stopping trucks on Nigeria's main highways not to enforce the law but to demand informal "settlements," according to a commentary by Festus Edovia of the Association of Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (ANIPR) and the Federation of International Communications and Media (FICM).
The practice has become commonplace on routes used by haulers of tomatoes, onions, cassava and other commodities. Drivers report being halted and asked for payments even when no traffic violation is observed. Edovia describes the phenomenon as a shift from professional policing to opportunistic collection, eroding the respect traditionally accorded to uniformed officers.
He argues that the pattern reflects deeper institutional failures, including inadequate welfare for officers, weak accountability mechanisms and a culture that often tolerates misconduct. When law‑enforcement agents divert attention from their core duty of safeguarding lives, public confidence wanes and security gaps widen, especially at a time when the country faces heightened insecurity.
The loss of the uniform's symbolic value, according to the author, is not accidental but the result of prolonged neglect and insufficient oversight. Edovia calls for reforms that go beyond rhetoric, emphasizing better pay, strict disciplinary enforcement and leadership that demonstrates that abuse of authority will not be tolerated.
If such measures are not implemented, the routine roadside extortion is likely to persist, further damaging the credibility of Nigeria's security forces.
The most striking element is that officers, meant to protect commerce, are now part of a parallel revenue stream that directly targets the same traders they should be safeguarding. This paradoxical role reversal deepens mistrust between the public and security agencies.
The situation mirrors a broader trend in several developing nations where underfunded security forces turn to informal income sources, undermining rule of law and encouraging corruption.
For Nigeria, the erosion of confidence in uniformed services could exacerbate existing security challenges, discouraging investment in transport‑dependent sectors such as agriculture.
Monitoring whether the government introduces concrete welfare and accountability reforms for officers will indicate if the pattern can be reversed.
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