By Efe Onodjae
The Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Maritime, AIG Okunade Ronke, has denied allegations that officers were deployed to illegal checkpoints around port access roads, insisting that no such authorization exists within the system.
Her clarification came as the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Ports Authority stepped up a coordinated operation aimed at dismantling illegal checkpoints and unauthorised roadblocks along the Apapa and Tin Can Island port corridors in Lagos.
The renewed enforcement drive follows growing concerns over extortion, traffic congestion, and jurisdictional conflicts that have long plagued the busy trade routes linking Apapa, Tin Can Island, Mile 2, and Berger. Authorities say the situation has significantly slowed cargo movement and increased logistics costs for port users.
The development was discussed at a high-level stakeholders’ meeting convened by the Nigerian Ports Authority in Lagos, which brought together security agencies, freight forwarders, transport unions, and other key stakeholders to agree on a more coordinated enforcement strategy.
