Following the news by the Federal Government to introduce toll gates in the federation, the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), has warned the Federal Government against mantling any toll gates in the South-East region.
The group led by its spokesman, Uchenna Madu, the secessionist group vowed to dismantle any toll gate sighted in the Igbo predominantly area.
Describing the policy as a wicked plot against the people of the region, the group said available data before it indicates that the region will have more toll gates than other regions, despite the deplorable state of federal roads in the area.
“The six states of South-South will have 21 toll gates; South-West with six states will have 22 toll gates; five states of the South-East 56 totalling 99 toll gates from the 17 southern states,” the group said.
“The seven states of North-West will have 12 toll gates; nine toll gates in six states of North-East; while six states of North Central will mount 14 toll gates totalling 35 toll points from 19 northern states.
“MASSOB observes that South-East with only five states has 56 tollgates, which is more than the entire 19 states of the Northern region with 35 tollgates. Even the Northern region that claims to have the highest population, yet, it will pay the lowest tollgate.
“Igbo states are higher with 21 tollgates and this is in conformity that Igbo land is under siege and exploitation.
“South-East has more Police checkpoints than any other region; has the greatest number of dilapidated federal roads; has the smallest landmass and the shortest distances from one point to the other when compared with other zones, and also has the worst road network in Nigeria.
“Igbo land and Biafra can never be an experimental ground for the exhibition of wickedness, malice, hatred, genocides, police extrajudicial killings, military terrorism, political subjections and unprovoked massacre of innocent and armless citizens.
“MASSOB condemn and insists that there will be no toll gates in Biafra land as wickedly proposed by the Nigeria government. MASSOB wonders how the establishment of these toll gates in Nigeria will ever work,” the statement added.
