The scourge of insecurity in Nigeria is gradually taking a more dangerous dimension, as bandits and kidnappers now find the highways lucrative for their heinous business.
Gone are those days when motorists and travelers had to worry about incessant extortionate habits of security agents on the freeways, bandits have now stolen the show and even more daringly.
Multiple confirmed reports from victims reveal that motorists and travelers are helplessly plagued by daredevil bandits, sometimes garbed in police or military camouflages, mounting roadblocks on the highway, shooting directly at vehicles and forcing drivers to halt, just before dispossessing commuters of their money, phones plus other valuables, while maiming anyone who gets in their way.
Others are not so lucky, as they are reportedly whisked into some thick bushes and coerced to call their relatives for ransom, before getting released.
Recently on red alert is the Lagos-Ibadan highway, which has recorded a spate of similar incidents in the last few weeks.
Some days ago, Nollywood actress, Bimpe Akintunde, shared via her Instagram handle, how she and her daughter managed to survive the dreaded hands of kidnappers along Oni-gaari axis of the Lagos-Ibadan highway.
She had posted, “Let’s be careful on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. I escaped the bandits’ attack around 5pm this evening, after Oni-garri on my way to Lagos. They were shooting at all the vehicles coming from Ibadan. They were like 10 in army uniform shooting directly at us. God saved me and my daughter, I can’t believe this!”
While insecurity might seem almost ordinary to the average Nigerian, sadly still, this horrid trend has dissuaded many intending road users, who are petulantly falling back on air transport, not minding the steep cost, in as much as their safety is guaranteed.
Most Nigerians who cannot afford to travel by air, are however depressed by immobility, or forced to take a costly detour, a situation which many consider as reasonably insufferable.
And although the police has constantly reassured the public that adequate security parameters would be deployed thereto, Nigerians yet groan and fear for dear life, as this is a major interstate highway, connecting through several traveling routes in the country, whilst earnestly urging both the concerned state and federal governments, to intensify security of commuters on highways, in line with the provisions of Section 41 of the 1999 Constitution (As amended), which grants every Nigerian the fundamental right to freedom of movement.
By Segun Babalola
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