By: Manoah Kikekon
GBAGI, Badagry – What should be a straightforward journey along the Gbaji-Owode corridor in Lagos State has become a grueling stop-and-start ordeal for residents and motorists, who are now raising the alarm over an astonishing number of security checkpoints that have crippled daily life and local commerce.
A survey of the route has revealed allegations of up to 37 security barriers mounted by a plethora of agencies, transforming a vital transport artery into a labyrinth of delays and frustration.
The litany of stops, as documented by aggrieved commuters and transport unions, reads like a directory of Nigeria's security apparatus. The journey begins in Gbaji with a staggering concentration of nine checkpoints alone, featuring the Ports Health, Police (at two points), Immigration, NDLEA, Quarantine, and Customs at three different points. As one moves through communities like Ganyingbo, Afowo, and Ajanaku, the pattern continues unabated, with the Army's 343 Reece Battalion, Ibereko-Badagry, and the Nigeria Customs Service establishing multiple posts, sometimes mere meters apart.
Further down the road, the situation persists through settlements like Sogbodile, Ropoji, and Ahanve. The list alleges the presence of the Nigerian Air Force at Ahanve, more police and customs points at Dado and Irosu, and a final heavy cluster around Gedu and Aroko, where Army, Anti-bomb Police, Mobile Police, and Customs again maintain a strong presence. In total, the tally alleges 12 checkpoints each by the Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigeria Police, with the remaining 13 manned by the Army, Immigration, NDLEA, and other agencies.
For those who ply this route daily, the impact is more than an inconvenience; it is an economic and social stranglehold. "A journey that should take 45 minutes now takes over three hours on a good day," lamented Tunde Oke, a commercial bus driver. "We are stopped at every corner, and the delays are not for security checks alone. We are often compelled to part with money 'for fuel,' 'for welfare' at many of these points. This constant extortion has forced us to increase transport fares, a cost ultimately borne by the common man."
Local business owners, stating that the prohibitive cost and time of moving goods have severely weakened economic activity. "Farm produce often spoils before it can get to the market in Owode or beyond," said a market woman who gave her name as Mama Ene. "Who will invest in an area where moving your goods feels like crossing an international border dozens of times? The government needs to see what is happening here. Our economy is dying."
In a stark contradiction to the situation on the ground, the Comptroller of the Seme Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, Wale Adenuga, has clarified that only two Customs checkpoints Agbara and Gbaji are officially approved along the entire Badagry–Seme corridor.
In a statement, Comptroller Adenuga emphasized that any other Customs post or barrier outside these two and their designated patrol operations is unauthorized. He revealed that the Service is actively working to reduce roadblocks and improve inter-agency coordination to ensure the smoother movement of goods and people, a move residents say is urgently needed.
As the complaints grow louder, the call for a high-level investigation and harmonization of security operations along the Gbaji-Owode corridor is reaching a crescendo. Residents and stakeholders are pleading with both state and federal authorities to intervene, demanding that security be balanced with the fundamental need for free movement and economic survival. Until then, the 37 alleged checkpoints remain a stark symbol of a community trapped in its own backyard.