Abubakar wormed himself into the consciousness of many Nigerians for ordering the cancellation of police roadblocks on Nigerian roads on his assumption of office few years ago. Aside being a means of extorting money from motorists, the roadblocks mounted on many roads before the order was made constituted a menace and – nightmare to motorists. Numerous roadblocks slowed down the journey of many and often caused accidents. This is why the cancellation was greeted with applause from Nigerians.
Since the cancellation of the road blocks, vehicular movement on major highways has been without much hindrance. Also, motorists particularly commercial ones, spend less time and money on the road. For this singular act, Abubakar has left an indelible mark in the sands of time. Although, his era was marred by the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East in particular, he can be exonerated because the imbroglio predated his assumption of office as IGP and the menace has gone beyond the capacity of the police.
With his retirement and replacement with Mr. Suleiman Abba as the new Inspector-General of Police, many people are apprehensive about the possibility of the sustenance of the policy banning the roadblocks because of their “lucrativeness.” As a matter of fact, many police checkpoints are being witnessed on major roads including streets in major cities. The implication of the ubiquity of the checkpoints is that roadblocks may be gradually returning with all their problems
Consequently, this is an appeal to Mr. Suleiman Abba to make the cancellation of roadblocks permanent and save Nigerians the menace they constitute. This is one of the ways to sustain the image of the police which has improved greatly in recent times.
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Let the ban on police roadblocks stay |
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