By Dennis Agbo
A non-partisan civic and socio-development platform, Oganihu, has called for an immediate end to alleged extortion, harassment and other abuses at security checkpoints across the South-East.
The group, comprising concerned Igbo professionals and citizens, also demanded greater accountability from security agencies and governments in the region.
Represented by its Co-chair, Prof Chijioke Uwasomba; Secretary, Uzodimma Nwogbe; and Advocacy Coordinator, Okechukwu Nwanguma, Oganihu urged citizens who experience abuses at checkpoints to safely document relevant details and report them through credible accountability channels.
In a statement issued on Monday, the group acknowledged the legitimate responsibility of security agencies to protect lives and property, particularly amid kidnapping and armed attacks in the region.
It, however, said security operations must not become avenues for extortion, arbitrary detention, humiliation or other abuses.
Oganihu said it was concerned about the proliferation of checkpoints, alleged systematic extortion of motorists and commercial transporters, prolonged detention of citizens in security facilities and the failure to implement recommendations of official inquiries into violence and insecurity.
It cited complaints from motorists, farmers, traders, transporters and civil society organisations, including reports of alleged police extortion on South-East roads in July 2026 and an investigation announced by the Enugu State Police Command in April following allegations of checkpoint extortion around Nsukka.
The group also recalled concerns raised by the House of Representatives in October 2025 over unidentified and improperly dressed security personnel manning checkpoints.
Oganihu called on the Inspector-General of Police, military authorities and heads of other security agencies to immediately audit all checkpoints across the five South-East states and establish their locations, operational necessity, authorisation and personnel.
It demanded the dismantling of checkpoints without identifiable security purposes and called for personnel found demanding or collecting money from road users to face appropriate disciplinary and criminal proceedings.
The group stressed that citizens’ constitutional rights to dignity and freedom of movement remained applicable at security checkpoints.
Oganihu also urged the governors of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states to use their constitutional and political oversight responsibilities to demand accountability from security agencies.
It said state funding and logistical support provided to federal security agencies should be transparent and tied to measurable standards of professionalism, human-rights compliance and accountability.
The organisation said it would engage the five governors and state Houses of Assembly, petition the National Assembly and relevant oversight bodies, and urge Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide to make the campaign against checkpoint extortion a sustained regional advocacy priority.
On prolonged detention, Oganihu expressed concern over reports of South-East residents arrested during security operations and allegedly held for extended periods at Wawa Barracks in Niger State and other military facilities.
Citing Amnesty International’s 2025 documentation of alleged torture and poor detention conditions involving detainees transferred from the South-East, the group demanded a transparent account of all persons currently held in connection with security operations.
It called for disclosure of their identities, dates and places of arrest, detaining authorities, legal status and pending charges.
The group insisted that suspects should either be prosecuted before competent courts or released where sufficient evidence did not exist, with their families informed and detainees granted access to lawyers.
Oganihu also urged the Anambra State Government to provide an update on the implementation of recommendations of the Truth, Justice and Peace Commission established by Governor Chukwuma Soludo.
It recalled that the commission examined the causes and patterns of agitation, violence and victimisation in Anambra and the wider South-East and recommended, among other measures, mechanisms for documenting missing and disappeared persons as well as the professionalisation and effective coordination of vigilante services.
The group noted that Soludo received the commission’s final report in March 2024 and pledged swift implementation, urging the state government to provide a public account of recommendations already implemented, those outstanding and a timeline for completing them.
Oganihu also called for the reopening of investigations into the 2002 murders of former Onitsha branch chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Barrister Barnabas Igwe, and his wife, Abigail.
The call comes amid renewed public controversy over historical allegations involving Mr Ken Emeakayi, who is currently identified as Special Adviser on Security to Governor Soludo.
The organisation said the Anambra Government had rejected allegations against Emeakayi, stressing that it was not pronouncing anyone guilty and that guilt must be determined by a competent court after due process.
It nevertheless urged law-enforcement authorities to revisit the murders and subject any credible evidence against anyone, irrespective of political affiliation or public office, to judicial process.
Oganihu said it would continue to pursue the issues through civic and institutional engagement, including collaboration with credible civil society, professional, transport and community organisations to document alleged abuses and pursue appropriate legal or judicial remedies.
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