HURIWA accuses soldiers of defying Defence Minister’s order on roadblocks in South-East

Prominent pro-democracy and civil rights group, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has raised concerns that soldiers have allegedly failed to comply with directives issued by the newly sworn-in Minister of Defence, General Christopher Gwabin Musa (rtd.), ordering their withdrawal from roadblocks across the country.

In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, HURIWA said its findings indicate that despite the minister’s public directive, soldiers and other armed security personnel continued to mount numerous checkpoints across the South-East region during the recent Yuletide season.

According to the group, the continued presence of soldiers at roadblocks contradicts the defence minister’s stated strategy of redeploying military personnel away from checkpoints and into active counterinsurgency and internal security operations.

HURIWA expressed regret that while the minister may have been led to believe that his order was being obeyed, observations on the ground suggested otherwise.

The organisation alleged that hundreds of roadblocks remained operational across the South-East, manned by soldiers and police officers bearing arms and ammunition.

The group further claimed that many of the checkpoints had become centres of extortion of motorists, while also causing severe traffic congestion and hardship for road users, rather than serving any meaningful security purpose.

HURIWA recalled that during his screening at the Senate, Defence Minister Musa, a retired general, outlined the withdrawal of soldiers from checkpoints as one of his key strategies to tackle insurgency and insecurity.

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During the screening, Musa stated that the military would pull out from road checkpoints and allow the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to take over such duties, enabling soldiers to focus on confronting criminals and terrorists directly in forested and hard-to-reach areas.

“What we want to do again is to withdraw basically all military men out of checkpoints and let the police and civil defence corps handle those aspects so that we can go into the bushes and take out these criminals wherever it is they are,” Musa had said.

Contrary to this directive, HURIWA said its research teams observed a significant presence of armed soldiers and police at numerous checkpoints across the South-East.

The group alleged that these security operatives were more engaged in extorting drivers than in protecting lives and property.

“For decades, soldiers have manned checkpoints across Nigerian roads, especially in volatile regions, to support civil authorities. However, the continued abuse of this role undermines public trust and contradicts the defence minister’s reform agenda,” the statement said.

HURIWA called on the Defence Minister to urgently investigate the alleged non-compliance, enforce discipline within the armed forces, and ensure that his directives are fully implemented across all regions.

The group stressed that restoring public confidence in security operations requires not only strong policy statements but strict enforcement, accountability, and transparency, particularly at a time when Nigerians are grappling with widespread insecurity.