Abuja — The Harmony Corps of Nigeria says it has received a Federal Government mandate to remove touts and illegal checkpoints from highways nationwide, a move it argues will cut transport costs and ease food inflation. Prof. Kailani Muhammad, Chairman of the Corps’ Board of Trustees, disclosed the plan on Thursday at a Food Security Summit in Abuja themed “Tracking the Transport Challenges Against Economic Development in Nigeria.”
“We have thugs, criminals, crooks, touts on our roads collecting taxes and levies,” Muhammad said. “If there are touts at about 10 checkpoints, all collecting money dubiously, that money will be added to the products. It is too bad. That is why we want to clear them… we are being mandated by the government to make sure that we clear all these touts so that we can have cheap food in the country.”
Muhammad said the Harmony Corps is coordinating with the police, army, DSS and civilian JTF to execute the mandate. Operations will span major corridors from Abuja to Lokoja and the Southwest, as well as Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria–Kano–Maiduguri and other routes. He added that the Corps is mapping illegal checkpoints and will soon release a “blueprint” alongside a new control room to track trucks from origin to destination. “We will ensure trucks are properly monitored… so they deliver goods properly, on time, and with no cost,” he said.
The summit was organised by the Harmony Corps in collaboration with the Nigeria Association of Agricultural Products Dealers (NAAPD). Harmony Corps Founder/Corps General, Elizabeth Omini, announced a deed of agreement with NAAPD to “sensitise and clear all illegal roadblocks and revenue collections,” saying the task force would increase legitimate government revenue, reduce leakages, lower food prices, and improve investor confidence. “Enhanced safety and security on our roads” is another expected gain, she noted, citing fewer incidents of robberies and kidnappings.
NAAPD’s BoT Chairman, Chief Charles Orji, linked multiple taxation directly to food price spikes and harassment of drivers. “Point by point, they keep on collecting money, beating drivers, hitting them, stealing from them. When will this thing stop? It will stop now,” he said. Orji urged truckers to pay legitimate levies only at loading and offloading points, not at ad hoc roadblocks.
While the Corps says inter-agency cooperation and technology will underpin the crackdown, stakeholders at the summit called for steady enforcement to prevent illegal checkpoints from reappearing and to lock in transport-cost savings that could translate into lower prices for consumers.
