Transporters Urge IGP Disu to Arrest Illegal Highway Tax Collectors

Transporters Urge IGP Disu to Arrest Illegal Highway Tax Collectors

Transport operators have urged Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu to deploy personnel to enforce a Federal High Court order directing the removal of illegal roadblocks and revenue-collection points on federal highways across Nigeria.

The Heavy Duty Haulage and Transporters Welfare Association of Nigeria made the appeal in a letter to the IGP, requesting police action against individuals and groups allegedly operating unauthorised tax and levy collection points on major highways.

The association specifically requested the deployment of 20 police personnel to enforce the court order and arrest persons found collecting taxes, levies or other charges through illegal roadblocks.

The request followed a Federal High Court judgment delivered in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, directing the police and relevant revenue authorities to remove roadblocks, checkpoints, barriers and other obstructions mounted on federal highways for the purpose of revenue collection.

Justice Hillary I. O. Oshomah, in the judgment delivered on July 13, 2026, ordered the authorities to supervise or ensure the immediate dismantling of unauthorised revenue-collection points on federal highways, expressways and roads.

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The court also directed the police to arrest, detain, investigate and prosecute persons, groups or authorities found to have erected or operated such roadblocks in violation of relevant tax laws.

The transporters said enforcement of the order would help address what they described as illegal taxation, extortion and harassment of road users, particularly commercial transport operators.

National Chairman of the association, Oraka Nnaemeka, and Secretary-General, Ayobami Makinde, said unauthorised collections along highways had placed additional financial pressure on truckers and other transport operators.

According to the association, the proliferation of roadside levies increases the cost of transporting goods and could ultimately contribute to higher prices for consumers.

The group therefore called on the Nigeria Police Force to implement the court order and protect legitimate transport operators from unauthorised revenue collectors and other individuals obstructing the movement of goods.

The association also argued that removing illegal checkpoints would improve the efficiency of the nation’s road transportation system and reduce delays faced by trucks travelling between states.

The court case involved Ayobami Makinde, Musamad Nigeria Limited and the Incorporated Trustees of Heavy Duty Haulage and Transporters Welfare Association, Bwari, Abuja, against the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army and the Joint Revenue Board.

The demand comes amid longstanding complaints from transport operators about multiple taxation and illegal levies imposed on commercial vehicles travelling across Nigeria.

The transporters are now seeking immediate police enforcement of the court order, particularly on federal highways where unauthorised revenue collection remains a concern for operators moving goods across the country.

Transporters Urge IGP Disu to Arrest Illegal Highway Tax Collectors