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Lagos Clears Illegal Checkpoints on Badagry Road

Published by Olatunji Yusuf on July 9th, 2025.

Lagos Clears Illegal Checkpoints on Badagry Road

The Lagos State Government has begun clearing illegal checkpoints along the busy Lagos–Badagry Expressway to ease traffic and make the road safer for everyone.

On Monday, the State Commissioner for Home Affairs, Alhaji Ibrahim Layode, led a joint team of top security officials to dismantle several unauthorized checkpoints. This action came after a high-level meeting with senior officers from the Nigerian Army, Police, Customs, Civil Defence, and a representative of the Akran of Badagry.

During the exercise, three Customs checkpoints around the Mowo area were taken down. The move was supported by the Deputy Comptroller of Customs in charge of Enforcement at the Seme Area Command.

While on the road, officers also cautioned and in some cases arrested motorists who were driving recklessly, including those going against traffic—one of the major causes of accidents on the expressway.

At the Gbaji axis, Commissioner Layode instructed officers on duty to reduce the space taken up by security teams to allow better vehicle movement.

Speaking with journalists, Layode said the government is determined to remove illegal checkpoints because they are contributing to gridlock and even some deadly accidents.

He pointed to a recent accident in Badagry that claimed lives, saying there are suspicions that an illegal checkpoint may have played a role. “We cannot continue to lose lives over issues that can be prevented,” he stated.

Layode also mentioned that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is worried about the rise in accidents on the Badagry stretch and has ordered immediate intervention.

To act on this, Layode met with army commanders from the 243 Battalion and 15 Engineer Regiment, along with senior police officers and border patrol leaders. According to him, all the agencies promised to support the removal of illegal checkpoints and help reorganize the legal ones so that traffic can flow better.

He thanked everyone involved for their cooperation and said he would report back to the governor on the steps taken.

It’s worth remembering that earlier on May 8, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu launched a special Presidential Task Force aimed at removing unnecessary checkpoints across Nigeria’s transport routes. The announcement was made by Ambassador Musa Nuhu during his visit to the Nigeria–Benin Republic border in Seme.