Editorial: Who Are the Top Officers Benefiting From Police Extortion at Onitsha Bridgehead?

By Tony Okafor

The Onitsha Bridgehead is one of Nigeria’s busiest commercial gateways, where thousands of traders, transporters, and commuters pass daily.

It should be a symbol of security and order. Instead, it has become a byword for brazen police extortion, where officers openly demand money from motorists with astonishing impunity.

For years, road users have complained of officers stopping vehicles without reasonable suspicion and demanding money before allowing them to proceed.

The practice has become so commonplace that, in some instances, officers reportedly even give motorists change, as though they were conducting legitimate business transactions.

Such brazen conduct, carried out in full public view, has become a national embarrassment.

What makes the situation even more alarming is that within a short stretch of the Bridgehead, as many as four different police teams can often be seen engaging in similar activities simultaneously.

This is no longer a matter of isolated misconduct by a few rogue officers. It raises a far more serious question: Who are these officers working for?
Can several police teams operate in the same manner, at the same location, day after day, without the knowledge of their supervisors? Where are the Divisional Police Officers, Area Commanders, and other senior officers responsible for monitoring operations? Have they failed in their supervisory responsibilities, or are some of them benefiting from the proceeds of this alleged extortion?

The persistence and apparent organization of the extortion have inevitably created public suspicion that the proceeds may not stop with the officers on the road.

If that suspicion is false, the police hierarchy owes the public a transparent investigation to clear the air. If it is true, those involved – regardless of rank – must face the full weight of the law.

Every act of extortion destroys public confidence in the Nigeria Police Force. It also diverts officers from their primary responsibility: the prevention of crime.

The Onitsha Bridgehead has long been associated with criminal activities, yet officers who should be hunting criminals are too often seen hunting motorists for cash, or are themselves implicated in serious crimes.

The Inspector-General of Police and the Anambra State Commissioner of Police must act decisively. A thorough investigation should identify not only the officers collecting money, but also any superior officers who authorized, tolerated, or profited from the practice.

The Nigeria Police Force exists to enforce the law, not to operate illegal roadside tollgates.

The public deserves to know who is behind this shameful enterprise.

Until the police handle this matter decisively, the suspicion that powerful hands are protecting the racket will continue to stain the integrity of the Force.