Angry youths have confronted policemen and personnel of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria at a checkpoint along the Auchi-Aviele Road in Edo State, accusing them of extorting motorists and commercial motorcycle operators.
The youths reportedly stormed the location after receiving information that security operatives were collecting money from road users, demanding that the officers account for the alleged illegal payments.
A video of the confrontation, which has gone viral on social media, showed a youth leader ordering the policemen, including armed officers, to submit themselves for a search.
“Search this one,” the youth leader was heard saying as one of the officers responded, “Nothing dey my body.”
The footage also captured one of the policemen raising both hands while a person searched him. Another officer, believed to be leading the team, attempted to hand his mobile phone to the youth leader, apparently to facilitate a conversation with an unidentified person, but the latter rejected the offer.
The youth leader was heard shouting, “I no wan talk!” before striking the officer’s hand during another attempt to pass him the phone.
After the confrontation, he reportedly ordered the policemen and vigilante personnel to leave the area before addressing residents and explaining the reason for their intervention.
In the video, he alleged that the security operatives had collected N4,200 from commercial motorcyclists and other road users within a short period.
“We were on Auchi-Aviele Road and found vigilantes and policemen mounting a roadblock here. We got information that they were extorting people, so we decided to chase them from here,” he said.
He added that he intended to hand over the recovered money to the Area Commander, while calling on the Commissioner of Police to investigate the alleged involvement of officers attached to Agbede Police Station.
The youth leader further claimed that the policemen told them they were acting on the directive of the Divisional Police Officer, while the vigilante members allegedly said they had been deployed by their boss in Aviele.
He expressed concern that the officers had allegedly collected the money in less than 30 minutes, suggesting that the amount could have risen substantially if the checkpoint had remained operational for longer.
“Imagine collecting this amount from Nigerians who are suffering,” he said.
Daily Trust said it examined several key frames from the footage using open-source intelligence tools and found no indication that the video had been digitally manipulated.
The incident has sparked reactions on social media, with several users condemning alleged extortion at checkpoints and demanding an end to the practice.
