Apparently disturbed by the gory details of the armed robbery attack on 42 female students along the Ore-Sagamu expressway in South-west Nigeria, Acting Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Abubakar has ordered a 24-hour patrol of the nation’s highways. The police boss gave the order after a meeting with senior officers in the capital city of Abuja Tuesday, three days after the students were robbed and raped by armed robbers, who pounced on them after the luxury bus conveying them from their school in South-east Nigeria to the capital city of Lagos broke down on Saturday night.
Nigerian highways are among the most dangerous in the world, as armed robbers capitalize on the poor state of the roads and the lack of security therein to attack motorists at will.
There have been concerns across the country that the dismantling of the police check points that dot the highways could be responsible for the growing attacks on the roads.
But the police boss, who has been widely hailed for ordering the removal of the road blocks – used by the police to extort money from motorists – has ruled out the return of the road blocks.
“Today, stories of toll collection, harassment of citizens on highways and other gory tales earlier associated with roadblocks no longer confront us. The roadblocks have disappeared and I intend that the situation remains so.
“Therefore, all commands shall, with immediate effect, commence robust motorized patrols of federal highways within their jurisdiction to ensure safety and easy passage of road users. Nigerians travelling on our highways must be sure of their safety with visible police patrols,” he said.