KEY POINTS

• Travellers accuse JTF personnel in Imo of extortion, phone searches, harassment and threats of violence at checkpoints.
• One traveller alleges officers tried to create a situation where he could be shot and labelled an IPOB or ESN member.
• Evidence cited in the report includes videos, audio recordings and an alleged N204,000 transfer to a Moniepoint account.

Several travellers and motorists have accused personnel of the Joint Task Force, JTF, operating at checkpoints in parts of Imo State of extortion, intimidation, unlawful phone searches and threats of violence.

The allegations, reported by SaharaReporters on August 21, 2026, were supported by videos, audio recordings and evidence of an alleged bank transfer obtained by the publication.

The travellers claimed that security personnel demanded money at checkpoints and, in some cases, threatened to link them to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) or its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).

The JTF reportedly comprises personnel from the Nigerian Army, Nigeria Police Force and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

One traveller said he had encountered JTF personnel at four separate checkpoints in Imo State and was allegedly forced to pay money during two of those encounters.

According to him, officers would find reasons to demand between N1,000 and N5,000 from motorists before allowing them to continue their journeys.

He said some of the checkpoints previously operated along Okigwe Road and the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway before being moved to areas around Ideato and Umuobom.

The traveller also alleged that a companion travelling with him towards Nnewi, Anambra State, was pulled from their vehicle and taken away in a JTF Hilux truck during one encounter on the Aba-Owerri Road.

The most serious allegation came from the same traveller, who said officers threatened to kill him and falsely portray him as an IPOB or ESN member.

He alleged that the incident began after officers noticed that he was wearing camera-enabled glasses.

According to his account, the officers took him into a bush, ordered him to remove some of his clothes and allegedly attempted to make him run into the area where they could shoot him.

He said he refused to enter a valley because he feared the officers would kill him and later claim he was an unidentified armed militant.

The traveller said officers eventually searched his phone and found conversations with police officers and soldiers but allegedly found no evidence linking him to any armed group.

He claimed the officers eventually released him but instructed him to surrender the device so they could determine whether he had recorded the checkpoint operation. The traveller said he was later stopped at Ngokpala, where officers allegedly slapped him, forced him into their vehicle and demanded money.

He claimed the officers eventually collected N10,000, which he said was the last money available in his OPay account.

The experiences, he said, have changed the way he travels, forcing him to transfer most of his money to relatives before embarking on journeys so that security personnel cannot access significant funds if they stop him.

A voice recording obtained by SaharaReporters reportedly captured another confrontation between a traveller and security personnel at a checkpoint.

In the recording, an officer allegedly ordered the traveller to surrender his phone after accusing him of recording the checkpoint.

The officer reportedly questioned whether the traveller was documenting the operation for IPOB and demanded access to his device.

The officers were also heard ordering the traveller to unlock his phone, while another officer allegedly accused him of recording the security operation. The traveller was subsequently ordered to remove his clothes, according to the report.

A separate video reportedly showed a soldier and police officer stopping a motorist who was wearing AI-powered camera glasses.

The soldier ordered the motorist to leave his vehicle, while the police officer demanded that he remove the glasses, alleging that the device could be recording the officers.

The motorist was taken to a JTF leader inside an operational vehicle, where the officer explained that he had been stopped because of the camera glasses.

The leader reportedly demanded to know whether the device was recording and became angry during the confrontation.

He was identified by a source as Stanley Chimezie, an NSCDC officer attached to the task force.

The source also alleged that Chimezie was the same officer captured in another video demanding that a traveller borrow N10,000 before he could be released.

The incident involving the motorist also reportedly resulted in a substantial financial demand.

According to evidence cited by SaharaReporters, the traveller allegedly transferred N204,000 to a Moniepoint account bearing the name Onyebuchi Chika Gift at about 3:32 p.m. on July 24, 2026.

The traveller said he had initially emptied his account and had to obtain money from other people to meet the demand.

He reportedly received N100,000 from another person through his driver and an additional N50,000 before transferring the N204,000, including a N4,000 transaction charge.

The motorist had reportedly flown into Imo State from Abuja and was travelling from the airport towards Umuahia, Abia State, when he encountered the JTF around 7½ Junction on the Obowo Road.

Earlier encounter also involved alleged N10,000 demand

Another account involved a traveller who said he and his elder brother were stopped while travelling from Aba, Abia State, to Asaba, Delta State.

The traveller said security officers stopped their vehicle and asked his brother, who was driving, to present the vehicle documents.

Although he said the documents were complete, officers allegedly took his brother to an abandoned fuel station where a senior officer was stationed.

The traveller said an officer subsequently demanded his phone after noticing him in the back seat.

He claimed he activated his camera while approaching the officers and saw another traveller being subjected to a phone search.

According to his account, the officer was allegedly attempting to transfer money from the traveller’s bank application to a POS operator and instructed him to borrow N10,000 from his driver.

The traveller said his own phone was seized but that he was eventually released after his brother allegedly paid the officers N10,000 or more.

The allegations also highlight concerns over the growing practice of security personnel demanding access to travellers’ mobile phones at checkpoints.

The victims alleged that officers searched private conversations, banking applications, photographs and recordings.

For the affected travellers, the alleged searches went beyond routine security checks and became a means of obtaining money and determining whether motorists had documented checkpoint activities.

The allegations are particularly sensitive in the South-East, where security agencies have frequently conducted operations linked to IPOB and ESN activities.

The allegations, if independently established, raise questions about the conduct and oversight of security personnel operating at checkpoints.

Checkpoints are intended to support security operations, identify threats and protect motorists and communities. However, allegations of arbitrary searches, extortion and threats of violence could undermine public confidence in security agencies.

The claims of possible attempts to falsely portray civilians as members of armed groups are especially serious because such allegations could have potentially fatal consequences.

The report said SaharaReporters contacted the Imo State Police Command for a response but received no response at the time of publication. The command’s spokesperson, DSP Okoye Henry, reportedly did not answer calls made to his phone.

The allegations therefore remain claims by the affected travellers pending an official investigation or response from the security agencies involved.