Southeast Nigeria faces security checkpoint extortion and journalist safety concerns

Civic group Oganihu Igbo has called for an immediate end to extortion and impunity at security checkpoints across Southeast Nigeria. In a communique issued in Anambra State, the group expressed concern over the deterioration of security and accountability, alleging that motorists and transporters face systematic extortion and that citizens suffer prolonged detention in security facilities.

In a separate development in Ebonyi State, lawmaker Chinedu Ogah mediated a peace settlement between journalists and suspected political thugs following an attack on media practitioners in the Idembia Ezza South Local Government Area. While the Nigerian Union of Journalists had initially petitioned security agencies for the prosecution of suspects, both parties agreed to a harmonious settlement following Ogah’s mediation efforts.