Apapa ports: Extortion returns to access roads 24hrs after PEBEC enforcement

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

Just 24 hours after the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), led by Director‑General Princess Zahra Audu, completed a special raid to dismantle illegal checkpoints and extortion points along the Apapa ports axis in Lagos, the same illicit activities have resurfaced.

Audu, together with senior PEBEC officers, conducted a cleanup operation last Thursday after a wave of complaints about security personnel and touts extorting truck drivers and inflating the cost of doing business in the area.

The operation involved an inter‑agency team that included the Nigerian Police, the Nigerian Ports Authority, the Nigeria Customs Service, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, the Federal Road Safety Corps, and officials from the Lagos State Government.

Over time, checkpoints scattered across key access routes into the Apapa port corridor had become revenue sources for corrupt port officials, security operatives, and touts, who routinely extorted truck drivers for hundreds of thousands of naira.

The raid forced several operatives to flee, leaving behind chairs and umbrellas at various posts.

During the operation, the PEBEC DG urged truck drivers to raise an alarm if they are asked to pay any illegal money while on the road.

Clearances were carried out at several locations, including checkpoints on the Liverpool Bridge, the second gate at the Terminal International Container Terminal (TICT), the approach to TICT’s computer facility, and a customs‑occupied container whose operations were suspended on the spot. Extortion points at PTML and Ports & Cargo terminals were also dismantled.

In the wider Apapa corridor, checkpoints at NAGAFF Junction, the ETISALAT and Fidelity roundabouts were removed, and extortion of truckers at other approved checkpoints across the axis was banned outright.

The PEBEC DG also issued a stern warning against the indiscriminate parking of trucks on port access roads, directing drivers and fleet owners to comply with the new order or face sanctions.

When Vanguard visited the axis over the weekend, traffic enforcement officials had returned to some of the dismantled checkpoints, stopping and collecting fees from truckers. Those who resisted were forced to withdraw or were pulled over from the access roads.

It was reported that N5,000 is collected from truckers at a particular checkpoint from about 4,000 trucks, translating into N20,000,000 daily, N600,000,000 monthly, and N7,200,000,000 annually.

“This is enough to provide street lights along our ports corridor, enough to buy refuse‑collecting trucks, enough to provide mobile toilets along access roads for drivers, enough to provide security patrol vehicles. That’s money from one checkpoint. We have over 40 checkpoints. The money generated from them is enough to support state and national budgets but ends up in private pockets. No patching of port holes on the roads.”

“During festive seasons they load bags of rice in trailers, rams and chickens to their various homes while truckers suffer with rickety trucks without any benefits from money collected at checkpoints. After looting from truckers at checkpoints they would tell you your truck is rickety not up to minimum standard after collecting all you are supposed to use to keep your trucks in good condition. No more extortion, enough is enough,” truckers told Vanguard.

Meanwhile, a concerned trucker, Mohammad Bala, said, “I am sorry to say this, but the reality of what happened shows that what was done by PEBEC was cosmetic. It is a wasted effort because the extortion points are coordinated behind the scenes by some faceless powerful cabal in the position of authority. Frankly speaking, the leadership of any security agencies found wanting on the roads collecting money should be held responsible. I stayed out overnight along with some of our team members to monitor the activities at many of these points mentioned, and I can say that the exercise was a failure because the amount of money paid to enter the ports in the night was humongous. I have my documentary evidence to show this to those who want it. However, we are preparing for the big day.”

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