Musa backs return of tollgates to track criminals on highways

The Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (retd), has called for tollgates to return to Nigeria's major highways, saying they could double as a security tool. He spoke in Abuja at a roundtable tagged “Promise to Proof: The Renewed Hope Conversation”, organised by the APC Progressive Strategy Roundtable and convened by Ismaeel Ahmed, executive chairman of PICNG and EVs.

Musa said Nigeria may have made a mistake by dismantling its tollgates. Modern tolling, he explained, does not need drivers to stop and pay cash. Cameras read vehicle registration numbers and payments are processed electronically, and the same system could help security agencies identify and track vehicles linked to crime.

He was responding to concerns about safety on the roads and a suggestion that motorists could pay a security levy at tollgates.

The minister also wants Nigeria's identity system tightened through personal identification numbers, facial recognition and fingerprints, which he said would make it easier for security agencies to confirm who people are.

Defence spending and the wider security picture

Musa said the Federal Government allocated ₦5.4 trillion to defence in the 2026 budget and is recruiting an additional 12,000 personnel. Money is going into weapons, surveillance systems and operational platforms, he said.

He said security forces killed more than 300 terrorists and bandits, including over 10 commanders, in operations in the week before his presentation.

He named Nigeria's long, porous borders, especially with Niger Republic, as a major challenge, saying criminal groups and illicit arms move through them. He said Nigeria still trains and cooperates with Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali on border security despite their withdrawal from ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States.

On soldiers being deployed for internal security, Musa admitted the military is overstretched. He said troops step in when a situation is beyond the police, and that the government is working to strengthen the police so soldiers can return to their primary duties.

He said a private soldier's monthly pay rose from about ₦49,000 to roughly ₦100,000 and then to nearly ₦200,000. Soldiers and their families get free medical care, and returning troops undergo two to three weeks of assessment for trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder.

Also at the roundtable, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Police Trust Fund, Alhaji Mohamed Shaidou, said the police suffered years of underfunding. He said about ₦100 billion was approved to rehabilitate police training institutions, and the fund is working towards 1,000 housing units per state for officers, with a groundbreaking already held for about 250 units in Nasarawa State.

Shaidou said the fund supports the proposed state police but wants the federal police strengthened first.

On protecting whistleblowers, Musa said the safety of informants matters and that the defence ministry and service headquarters are working on a reporting line for intelligence from the public.

He said the true test of success is simple: farmers back on their farms, travellers moving safely on the roads, and markets and businesses open without fear.

What happens next: The return of tollgates would need a policy decision and infrastructure, and none was announced. The security spending and recruitment figures are government plans, not results yet.